A new bridge is all the rage in Los Angeles among car racers and influencers | International

On July 10, thousands of people turned out for the dedication of the Sixth Street Viaduct, a bridge connecting downtown Los Angeles with the historic Boyle Heights neighborhood to the east. That Sunday hundreds of neighbors came on foot, bicycle, rollerblades and skateboards, who took photos and walked in wonder over the kilometer of pavement. The new work took six years to build and cost 588 million dollars. After two years of delay forced by the pandemic, it finally opened. First for the enjoyment of pedestrians between eleven in the morning and four in the afternoon. Hours later, the bridge was to be claimed by drivers, the real beneficiaries in a county that has more than eight million cars. The premiere marked the immediate future of the viaduct, which has caused a furor. In recent weeks, it has attracted streams of influencers, car racers throughout Fast and Furious and daredevils who have set out to climb the concrete arches of the work designed by architect Michael Maltzan.

The chaos has caused numerous headaches for the Los Angeles police, who have closed the bridge to traffic multiple times since it opened. Since last Thursday there have been five closures on this road. The most recent was on Tuesday, at nine o’clock at night. “The Sixth Street Bridge will be closed until further notice due to illegal activities and public safety concerns,” police said on social media. The reopening was communicated with another message, which arrived just a few hours later. The closure was kept overnight, the preferred time for car racers, who have chosen the viaduct as the setting for stunts at the wheel and acceleration competitions. Residents of Boyle Heights describe how the squeal of burning tires has become a common sound in the wee hours. The tire marks on the pavement remain as a sign of baptism.

Over the weekend, 57 traffic tickets were handed out on the bridge and six offenders’ vehicles were seized. Not only cars have made this new attraction their own. The viaduct has also left surreal images, such as that of a man sitting in a barbershop chair getting a haircut in the middle of the street. On Monday, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for climbing one of the arches that support the structure. He is not the only person who has climbed them, as dozens of posts on Instagram demonstrate.

Cameras are no stranger to this spot in Los Angeles, one of ten bridges over a dry river. The channel that crosses below will be familiar to almost everyone. Some of the most iconic scenes in Hollywood have been filmed there. It was the place where John Travolta races his car at the climax of Grease (1978). The Terminator rode his Harley-Davidson there for James Cameron to pull off one of the most revered car chases in cinema. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the scene a couple of years later to the last great herofrom 1993. The gamers you will be able to recognize it from the popular Grand Theft Auto.