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By Stefanie Dazio

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES 鈥� The newest bridge in Los Angeles, a $588 million architectural marvel with views of the downtown skyline, opened to great fanfare on July 10. It has already been closed, to great dismay, several times amid chaos and collisions.

The 6th Street Viaduct sits high above the concrete-lined Los Angeles River to connect downtown to the historic Eastside. It quickly became a hotspot for street racing, graffiti and illegal takeovers that draw hundreds of spectators eager to watch drivers perform dangerous stunts in their vehicles.

Social media stunts have abounded as well 鈥� in one case, a man sat in a聽barber鈥檚 chair for a haircut聽in the middle of the lanes. And the crashes are piling up, including a聽three-car collision聽where one driver, who had been part of a street takeover, left his white Dodge Challenger and ran from the scene. He later turned himself in.

The Los Angeles Police Department has closed the bridge multiple times 鈥� an exact count was not available Wednesday 鈥� and in the latest move, announced Tuesday that the bridge would be聽鈥渃losed until further notice聽due to illegal activity and public safety concerns鈥� before backtracking and reopening it hours later.

Officials hope to install speed bumps, safety fences and cameras on the young bridge to curtail the behavior. In the meantime, officers are impounding vehicles and issuing citations.

鈥淲e ask for everyone to take a pause and recognize that this is a figure or a location in Los Angeles that we all want to be proud of,鈥� Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. 鈥淲e want to show the world that we are a world-class city, that we can have these types of features and we can take care of them, respect them.鈥�

The bridge spans 3,500 feet from the trendy Arts District to Boyle Heights, a traditionally working-class Latino neighborhood. It鈥檚 the largest and most expensive bridge ever built in the city.

Known as the 鈥淩ibbon of Light鈥� for its thousands of LED lights and tilted arches 鈥� which have already attracted daredevil pedestrians and skateboarders 鈥� the 6th Street Viaduct replaced an 84-year-old Art Deco bridge. That structure, seen in countless Hollywood movies including 鈥淕rease鈥� and 鈥淭erminator 2,鈥� was聽demolished in 2016聽after a chemical reaction weakened its concrete over decades.

Mayor Eric Garcetti called the new bridge 鈥渙ur generation鈥檚 love letter to the city鈥� during its opening weekend.

鈥淲hile the mayor recognizes that the celebration of this bridge is overwhelmingly positive, he has no tolerance for behavior that keeps Angelenos from enjoying this new landmark,鈥� Harrison Wollman, Garcetti鈥檚 press secretary, stated on Wednesday. 鈥淭he city is reviewing additional safety options and is taking immediate action to ensure the bridge is safe and accessible for everyone.鈥�

John Yi, executive director of pedestrian advocacy nonprofit Los Angeles Walks, said the bridge wasn鈥檛 built to optimize pedestrian and bicyclist safety. It currently lacks a center median, for example, though discussions to add one are under way.

The shutdowns are city leaders鈥� attempts to reframe the discussion away from poor infrastructure and toward the street racers and other risk-takers, Yi said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the message the city鈥檚 trying to send to the public: This is not our fault; this is their fault,鈥� he said.

But the bridge鈥檚 design was flawed from the start, according to Yi.

鈥淚f you provide a concrete jungle gym, then that鈥檚 how people will use it,鈥� he said.