This railing from the old Burbank Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 was presented to a local museum. Photo by District 7
Note: Public Information Officer Michael Comeaux wrote this story for the most recent edition of the Caltrans District 7 newsletter.
It’s a piece of Burbank history.
At the request of the Burbank Historical Society, a section of the railing from the 60-year-old Interstate 5 Burbank Boulevard Bridge was preserved by Caltrans during the bridge demolition on April 25-26.
Caltrans delivered the railing on April 28 to the Historical Society at its facility, the Gordon R. Howard Museum in Burbank. At the same time, Caltrans delivered a “Burbank Blvd” sign still mounted on a pole from the demolished bridge.
Click to watch a time-lapse video of the April demolition of the Burbank Boulevard bridge.
Video by District 7
In March, as Caltrans was publicizing the schedule for the demolition, a representative of the Historical Society contacted District 7 to ask whether an artifact could be conserved, such as a section of the original 1950s-designed railing, to remind Burbank residents of the bridge, which was a landmark when it opened in 1960.
The railing, pole and sign were placed in the museum’s work area where volunteers will prepare them for display. The museum has been under a temporary closure recently due to the coronavirus pandemic.