Los Angeles recently opened a half-billion dollar bridge which connects the neighborhood of Boyle Heights to downtown LA. The bridge is know as the Sixth Street Viaduct or, more commonly, the Sixth Street bridge and it was opened to traffic on July 10 but police have been forced to close it down four of the last five nights because of problems with some area residents:

The bridge, connecting Boyle Heights with the downtown Arts District, was reopened early Wednesday after yet another overnight closure — the fourth in five nights — due to “illegal activity” that has included people converging on the span, performing spinouts, burnouts or blocking traffic…

People are leaving skid marks after doing spinouts and donuts in their cars. Others have stopped their vehicles to take pictures, a byproduct of the bridge being built during the social media era, according to Councilman Kevin de León, whose district includes the bridge…

Graffiti removal crews have cleaned up an average of 1,244 square feet of graffiti each day since the bridge opened and spent an average of 21.5 hours a day at the bridge…

Police Chief Michel Moore told the city’s Police Commission on Tuesday that officers issued more than 57 citations and impounded six vehicles over the previous four days.

Moore said the bridge has become known as a place where people come to “find their 15 minutes of fame” by climbing onto its infrastructure, interrupting traffic and posting demonstrations on social media.

It really is a pretty good looking bridge but for whatever reason it has become the hot spot to be seen and make videos. Someone set up a barber chair and was giving a haircut in the middle of the bridge last week.

Man gets haircut in the middle of the 6th Street Bridge in Boyle Heights pic.twitter.com/20d8jzZAeC

— Boyle Heights (@boyle_hts) July 21, 2022

That stunt went viral and probably encouraged a lot more people to show up and try to capture their own moment of glory on the bridge. Two days ago the bridge saw it’s first marriage proposal.

The first proposal at #6thStreetBridge 💍 pic.twitter.com/OUw1LeQoUo

— LaPuente626sgv (@LaPuente626sgv) July 27, 2022

She’s well built…the bridge I mean.

Man does the first proposal on the #6thstreetbridge in Boyle Heights.
📸: @flowers.562 pic.twitter.com/ozQNLHSc1Y

— Boyle Heights (@boyle_hts) July 26, 2022

And before that there was a quinceanera:

People do the first quinceanera on the #6thstreetBridge in Boyle Heights. pic.twitter.com/lG1nkMYBm2

— Boyle Heights (@boyle_hts) July 24, 2022

And this guy:

Man shadow boxes on the #6thstreetBridge in Boyle Heights. pic.twitter.com/Gqgaikzimm

— Boyle Heights (@boyle_hts) July 24, 2022

People doing dangerous stunts on the cables:

Man caught doing parkour stunt on 6th street bridge in Boyle Heights. pic.twitter.com/JChIXs5PzM

— Boyle Heights (@boyle_hts) July 23, 2022

It has been taken over by cyclists:

Hundreds of cyclists rode past the barriers onto the closed 6th street bridge initiating a large response by LAPD. One cyclist I spoke with said the group is from San Diego & didn’t know the bridge was closed. @lapd #6thstreetBridge #losangeles pic.twitter.com/ef3yQg9Qi0

— Darsha Philips (@DarshaPhilips) July 24, 2022

And this idiot who was trying to show off his rented Hellcat and wound up crashing into two other cars. He apparently ran but was eventually arrested.

Accident on the new 6th st Bridge in downtown La #6thstreetBridge #6thstbridge #downtown #LosAngeles #cars #ACCIDENT pic.twitter.com/IkZcFRX7uA

— La Takeover (@latakeover_) July 19, 2022

He wasn’t alone. Lots of people seem to want to leave a strip of burned rubber on the bridge:

Lots of people have been climbing the bridge’s arches.

While shooting a story on the problems with the new #6thstreetBridge we saw this problem on the new 6th Street Bridge. pic.twitter.com/Pw7kskoyDV

— Alex Rozier (@AlexNBCLA) July 26, 2022

So you get the idea. The bridge is definitely a hit but maybe a little too much of a hit for it to actually function as a bridge. Already there are plans to make changes including fencing to keep people off the arches, cameras to discourage dumb/illegal behavior and speed bumps to prevent street racing.

Some people are also now suggesting that the bridge be closed to traffic on weekends for pedestrians or special events. Some are even envisioning turning it into a pedestrian park complete with trees. I doubt the city will go for that but they are going to have to do something to bring this under control so that everyone can use it. Maybe this guy below can start a trend:

Street takeovers, graffiti, crashes, dangerous stunts… and the #6thstreetbridge isn’t even 2 weeks old. @NBCLA for more on how the city plans to crack down on those using the bridge for illegal antics pic.twitter.com/Ur8Sc0WKuC

— Darsha Philips (@DarshaPhilips) July 24, 2022