Metro reported yesterday that the installation of surface-level concrete concrete decking along Wilshire Blvd. near Fairfax Ave. has been completed five weeks ahead of schedule…which means no more weekend street closures and traffic detours in the area.
The new deck panels act as a temporary street surface that allows Purple Line subway excavation and construction to proceed below ground while traffic continues to flow above.  Similar work was done in the Wilshire/La Brea area last year.  Installation of the decking panels in the Fairfax station area began in Feburary and was scheduled to take 18 weekends, with the street fully closed from 8 p.m. on Fridays through 6 a.m. on Mondays.
According to Metro, though, even with some weather-related interruptions this spring, contractor Skanska-Traylor-Shea was able to speed up the process by starting lane closures earlier on Fridays and coordinating closely with other city departments on the road closures.  In all, 575 concrete panels measuring 9 x 14 feet were installed along Wilshire, in the area that will eventually contain the Wilshire/Fairfax subway station. There will still be some construction activity in the area, though, in the coming weeks. During the month of July, Metro says it will continue with some street restoration work near Wilshire and Fairfax, as well as further excavation and creating deck openings for the delivery of materials and machinery to the underground construction site.
Metro is also working at Wilshire and La Cienega, where piling is being installed for the Wilshire/La Cienega station. Â This work will include lane reductions on Wilshire for eight to ten months, and eventually, there will also be weekend street closures for the installation of concrete decking there.
Also, even though the Fairfax decking work (and the completion of the decking at the Wilshire/La Brea intersection a few months ago) was completed ahead of schedule, Metro is careful to note that the overall timeline for the subway is still on track for its originally-predicted opening in 2023.  The new “semi-permanent” center lane opening at Wilshire and Mansfield is also still going to remain in place, as originally planned, through the end of 2017.
For more details, and more photos of the Fairfax decking work, see Metro’s The Source blog at http://thesource.metro.net/2017/06/19/decking-at-future-wilshirefairfax-subway-station-finished-5-weekends-early/
