As a series of dangerously high-speed maneuvers continue on the new 6th Street Viaduct Bridge in downtown Los Angeles, bumps are being installed and Los Angeles Police Chief Michelle Moore is urging the public to remain vigilant to help the already overburdened police.
On Tuesday night, Los Angeles police closed the bridge again in an effort to prevent crime. The closure will continue “until further notice” due to illegal activity, the LAPD tweeted.
LAPD News: The 6th Street Bridge will be closed until further notice due to illegal activity and public safety concerns.
— LAPD Headquarters (@LAPDHQ) July 27, 2022
“We’re not going to arrest our way out of this,” Moore said Tuesday at a Police Commission meeting. “Despite the hundreds of seizures and citations and arrests, we’re still seeing the prevalence of this. So I’m asking for help and support and cooperation from the public.”
Bumps are being installed as city officials hope to curb crime. A center median and fencing to discourage people from driving on the arches may also be installed soon on a temporary basis, according to Moore.
The $588 million bridge, which opened to the public on July 10 and connects Boyle Heights and the downtown Arts District, was closed Sunday night for the third night in a row because of what Los Angeles police described as “illegal activity.”
Police have issued more than 57 citations and impounded six vehicles in the past four days, according to Moore.
Moore said the bridge has become known as a place where people come to “find their 15 minutes of fame” by climbing the bridge’s infrastructure, disrupting traffic and posting demonstrations on social media.
Most of the illegal activity is done by people who are not from the surrounding community, according to Moore.
A video on social media from last weekend shows drivers spinning wheels and doing other antics on the bridge, leaving the pavement marked.
Some people even crawled along the ribbon arches that line the bridge to get elevated views of the action.
Other isolated incidents include a man cutting his hair in the middle of the bridge last Wednesday and another shadow boxing while wearing a red cloak. The driver of the car involved in the July 18 crash abandoned the wrecked Dodge Charger on the bridge and fled on foot.
The incidents “pull limited resources, limited resources away from more pressing duties to ensure the safety of that location,” Moore said.
In all, police have documented 657 street abductions in Los Angeles so far this year. They made 352 felony arrests, seized 439 cars and issued more than 2,000 citations related to street racing and embezzlement.
The opening of the Sixth Street Viaduct marks a key moment in a construction project that began in 2016 to replace a 1932 vintage structure.
The original bridge was an iconic Los Angeles landmark seen in movies including “Grease” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” but its aging structure is deteriorating, leaving it seismically unsound.
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