A boisterous final farewell to 6th Street Bridge before demolition begins - Los Angeles Times

A boisterous final farewell to 6th Street Bridge before demolition begins

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Councilman Jose Huizar, center, accompanied city engineer Gary Lee Moore, left, by the new Sixth Street Bridge designer Michael Maltzan on a final walk across the bridge, which is set for demolition.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A view of Sixth Street bridge on January 27, 2016 morning, as some visitors and city officials went for a final walk across the bridge, which is set for demolition.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynette Romero, an anchor/reporter KTLA, jumps in air for a photo on Sixth Street Bridge which is set for demolition.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A view of Sixth Street bridge on Wedneday morning, as some visitors and city officials went for a final walk across the bridge, which is set for demolition.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A view of Sixth Street bridge on Wednesday morning, as some visitors and city officials went for a final walk across the bridge, which is set for demolition.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Lanchen Mihalic, 27, left, and Blake Waddell, 26, look out over L.A.’s 6th Street Bridge, a 3,500-foot concrete span that connects the downtown Arts District to Boyle Heights, before its closure on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Traffic and pedestrians cross L.A.’s 6th Street Bridge, a 3,500-foot concrete span that connects the downtown Arts District to Boyle Heights.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A lone pedestrian crosses L.A.’s 6th Street Bridge before its closure on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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L.A.’s 6th Street Bridge glows like a beacon on the last day it was open to traffic and pedestrians before it’s closure on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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People gather along the Los Angeles River during the Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival in Los Angeles on October 24, 2015.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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People attend the Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival in Los Angeles on October 24, 2015. Festivities were held on and around the bridge and featured bands, food trucks, live mural paintings and fireworks.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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People attend the Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival in Los Angeles on October 24, 2015.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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People gather along the Los Angeles River with their vintage cars during the Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival in Los Angeles on October 24, 2015.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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People park their vintage cars along the Los Angeles River during the Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival in Los Angeles on October 24, 2015.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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People attend the Sixth Street Bridge Farewell Festival in Los Angeles on October 24, 2015.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

By Matt HamiltonStaff Writer

Jan. 26, 2016 10:21 PM PT

The 6th Street Bridge east of downtown Los Angeles is getting more than its share of goodbyes.

On Tuesday night, scores came out to bid farewell to the crumbling span as it's scheduled to close Wednesday for demolition. A "final walk" is being scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.

But the crowd grew rowdy shortly after 8 p.m., when more than 100 people had gathered on the iconic span. At least 20 Los Angeles police officers responded to oust the crowd from the bridge, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said. One person, an unidentified woman, was arrested on suspicion of resisting a police officer, Lopez said.

The new 6th Street Bridge, a $449-million project expected to open in 2019, will echo the design of the old one: a four-lane road framed by curved arches of varying heights following the approximate path of a stone skipped across a pond. Planners imagine the bridge as one that dedicates equal space to pedestrians, bicyclists and cars and integrates the two very different communities it connects. The demolition is expected to take time, and it's unclear when exactly it will begin.

The designer of the new viaduct, Michael Maltzan, and city leaders are scheduled to participate in Wednesday morning's final walk.

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Matt Hamilton is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting with colleagues Harriet Ryan and Paul Pringle and was part of the team of reporters that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. A graduate of Boston College and the University of Southern California, he joined The Times in 2013.

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