Next Tuesday (8th) will see the start of the largest bridge project in Southern California, with a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of a new US$1bn span at the Port of Long Beach. The design-build project is expected to create about 3,000 jobs a year, on average, for three years.

New US$1bn bridge for Long Beach

The structure, which will have towers reaching over 150 metres (500 feet) above ground level, will replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge. More than 60 m (200 feet) above the water, the sleek cable-stayed suspension bridge will have a higher clearance to accommodate the new generation of cargo vessels and include additional traffic lanes.

The project is a joint effort of the California Department of Transportation and the Port of Long Beach, with funding also from the US Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The project is part of a US$4.5bn investment over the next 10 years to modernise infrastructure at the Port.