Long Beach bridge construction begins

Scheduled to take four years to complete, the new bridge will be one of the tallest cable-stayed bridges in the US and the first of its kind in California. It will raise the clearance over the channel from 155 to 200 feet, allowing the world’s largest ships to enter the Port’s inner harbour and simultaneously expand a strategic highway that carries 15% of all goods coming into the US.

The Gerald Desmond Bridge, which opened in 1968, provides a critical link from Terminal Island and the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to downtown Long Beach and the 710 Freeway. The replacement project will allow the Gerald Desmond Bridge to remain in use while the new one is erected adjacent to it. The project is part of a US$4.5bn investment over the next 10 years to modernise infrastructure at the Port.

Construction costs on the new bridge will be about $650m with site preparation, demolition of the existing bridge and other considerations bringing the total project to US$1bn.