The Sixth Street Bridge in Los Angeles was shut down four times over a five-day stretch after people continued to use it to perform illegal stunts and record TikTok videos.
L.A. spent nearly $600 million and took the past six years to construct the bridge that opened on July 10. But since then, the new renovation has been taken over by criminal activity such as drag races, graffiti, and dangerous social media stunts, according to Fox 11.
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Michel Moore said the department couldn’t rely on arresting people to stop the trend of illegal activity on the bridge. “We’re not going to arrest our way out of this,” he remarked. “Despite the hundreds of impounds and citations and arrests, we still see the proliferation of this. So I’m asking for the public’s help and support and assistance.”
Multiple videos have appeared on social media showing people pulling various stunts on the bridge. In one popular video, a man gave someone a haircut in between two lanes of traffic, and in another video, cars spin their tires on the pavement, leaving skid marks.
WATCH:
Last Friday, police arrested several people on the bridge after they took it over, two of whom were reportedly pointing lasers at police officers. The LAPD has blamed most of the illegal activity on tourists coming to the city to go to the bridge. One man told Fox 11 that he came with his family from Las Vegas because his daughter had seen the bridge on TikTok videos.
The bridge reopened again Wednesday morning after its fourth closure Tuesday night. In hopes of deterring future bridge takeovers, Chief Moore announced Tuesday that the city would be installing speed bumps on the bridge and adding a median and fencing to stop people from climbing the bridge’s archways, Fox 11 reported.
The new Sixth Street Bridge replaced the iconic L.A. bridge built in 1932. The original bridge was famously shown in blockbuster films “Grease” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” but had to be replaced due to deterioration.