Gerald Desmond Bridge headed for replacement
The aging Gerald Desmond Bridge could soon be demolished and replaced with a new $1.1 billion span under a proposal expected to be announced this week by the Port of Long Beach, Calif..
Plans call for building a cable-supported bridge with a main span of 2,000 feet and six traffic lanes that connects Terminal Island to downtown Long Beach, according to the port's draft environmental impact report.
If approved, it could take up to six years to build the new bridge while trucks and commuter traffic continue to cross the old span nearby.
The 42-year-old Gerald Desmond Bridge is considered a critical link for truckers hauling goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the rest of the country.
"Fifteen percent of the nation's imports cross the Gerald Desmond Bridge, taking goods to every single congressional district in the nation," said Richard Steinke, executive director of the Port of Long Beach.
"It really is a bridge to everywhere and a workhorse of the goods movement system, so it needs to be replaced with a safer, more adequate system," Steinke said. "No one thought back in the 1960s that international trade would have grown as much as it has over the past 40 years."
The proposed bridge would have a vertical clearance of 200 feet, about 45 feet taller than the current span, port officials said. The additional height will allow larger cargo ships and newer, cleaner vessels to pass under the bridge and access port terminals equipped with shoreside electrical power.
"There's a concern that the (Gerald Desmond) bridge is too low for the larger ships coming in, so the port really needs to replace it if they intend to remain competitive with expanding ports in other parts of the country and in Panama," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
"This project is critical," Kyser said. "When looking at other ports, you come to the conclusion that Los Angeles and Long Beach are well-placed and competitive, but you need to improve the infrastructure for it to remain that way."
Large nets were placed beneath the old arch bridge at least five years ago to catch chunks of falling concrete that could have landed on workers and nearby businesses. The bridge's concrete decks and superstructure rank near the bottom of the state's inspection grading system, holding a 48 sustainability rating on a scale that ranges from 100 as the high to zero as the low.
Despite the poor rating, port officials said the crumbling bridge is still safe for the estimated 68,000 vehicles that cross the span daily, about 75percent of which are commuters traveling between Long Beach and San Pedro.
To accommodate anticipated increases in traffic, the new bridge will be equipped with three lanes in each direction and an emergency clearance on both sides. The current bridge has only two lanes of traffic in each direction and no emergency lanes, leading to major traffic jams when accidents occur.
"This bridge is just as important for the Port of Los Angeles as it is for the Port of Long Beach when you look at where the traffic is headed from those terminals," said Michele Grubbs, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, a trade group representing more than 60 vessel and terminal operators.
"It's absolutely critical that they replace this bridge because it's a vital link for economic development and the jobs it creates, not just for the port, but for the region," Grubbs said. "Getting it replaced will send a message to cargo owners that we want jobs here and we want economic development at these ports."
Port officials said they have about half the money needed to build the new bridge, while the remaining funds will be sought from federal, state and local sources. Once the new bridge is completed, it will be owned by the California Department of Transportation and become part of the state's highway system, officials said.
The Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement was listed among several infrastructure projects funded by a cargo fee that was supposed to generate $1.4 billion, along with matching funds from the Proposition 1B transportation measure that was approved by voters in 2006.
The cargo fee was adopted by the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions in January 2008, but was never collected due to a series of roadblocks.
The lack of environmental impact reports for the proposed bridge, railway and road projects kept officials from collecting the fee from shippers. Additionally, the ongoing national recession hit shipping companies hard, making the cargo fee an unattractive burden for those doing business at the ports.
For now, the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions have stalled collection of the fee until July 1 as they continue to study how much to charge shippers. However, the fee might not ever be implemented, said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach.
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Looks like they chose the Cable-Stayed Steel Composite with Single Pilon Towers version:
Quote:
Originally Posted by LAMetroGuy
Desmond Bridge, Port of Long Beach, CA
Photosimulation of proposed bridge allternatives
CURRENT DESMOND BRIDGE
Cable-Stayed Concrete with Twin Pilon Towers
Cable-Stayed Steel Composite with Diamond Towers
Cable-Stayed Steel Composite with Single Pilon Towers
Steel Tied Arch
Cable-Stayed Concrete with Single Pilon Towers
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