'Century Crunch' Work Slightly Ahead Of Schedule

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — As of early Saturday evening work to demolish an old rail overpass at the intersection of Century and Aviation boulevards was slightly ahead of schedule.

The overpass is being removed to make way for a new light rail station that is part of  a $2 billion project to connect the Green and Expo lines, and bring service closer to Los Angeles International Airport. The station is expected to be finished in 2018, with service on the 8.5-mile line starting a year later.

By mid-Saturday morning two sections of the old bridge had come crashing down in a pile of concrete and steel.

Art Barron spoke to several motorists Saturday afternoon who took heed of warnings that traffic near LAX would be disrupted, with the major intersection east of the airport closed all weekend.

"We actually saw that on the news this morning, so we got off at Imperial (Highway), took us less than an hour," said Kathleen Burke. "The most traffic we had was coming through the terminal."

Charles Beauvoir, the project director for the Crenshaw-LAX Metro line, warned that traffic might get a little heavier around the airport on Sunday as tourists head out of town.

Metro still expects to have the intersection reopened by 6 a.m. Monday.