PORT NEWS
New Long Beach bridge lights up the sky
6 — PACIFIC PORTS — January 2021
Photos courtesy of the Port of Long Beach
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alifornia’s first cable-stayed bridge for traffic into the Port of Long Beach — the replacement for the 50-year-old Gerald Desmond Bridge — was opened to great fanfare in October 2020. Just over two months later, energy-saving LED lights were turned on for the first time to illuminate the two 515-foot-tall towers and 80 cables holding the main span portion of the nearly two-milelong bridge. The lights provide a visual reminder of the importance this vital transportation link has to international trade and regional commerce. “We all know the Port of Long Beach is incredibly important to our local and national economy. Thousands of people depend on these good-paying jobs. This bridge connects us to our neighbors in Los Angeles and across the country,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. “We couldn’t be more excited that this bridge is going to light up every single night. This will be very visible as folks come in and out of our great city.” Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna said a lighted bridge should offer hope for a brighter 2021 and beyond. “These extraordinary lights represent our courage and determination. These magnificent lights shine on our city as a beacon of hope. This new bridge signals our confidence in a strong economic future for our Port, our city and the greater Southern California region.” Mario Cordero, Executive Director for the Port of Long Beach, said the colored lights will offer an entirely new look for the international shipping complex, which has seen record months for container cargo shipments. “I believe our well-lit bridge will serve as a beacon to many ships from around the world that come to the Port of Long Beach.” The lights will also provide Southern California a constant reminder of special days, Cordero said. “We have 27 different color combinations to be used at various times of the year — either
The replacement for the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge has been built to last for at least 100 years. to mark holidays, special awareness moments or even to celebrate our World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.” The new bridge also offers greater resiliency in an earthquake and a 100year minimum lifespan. The new bridge, which will eventually be named through legislative action, is one of the tallest cable-stayed bridges in the United States and the first of its kind in California. The bridge is a joint effort of Caltrans and the Port of Long Beach, with additional funding support from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The lighting of the bridge is the culmination of seven years’ of work to replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge. Work began in 2013 with a complex operation to clear obstructions from the new bridge’s path, including nearly two dozen active and abandoned oil wells
buried deep in the soil. The new bridge required a massive foundation, given there is no bedrock near the surface. Crews drilled and constructed 352 eightand six-foot diameter concrete and rebar piles that were nearly 180 feet deep. The right-of-way work also required realigning large underground utility lines — a process that sometimes required freezing the ground to prevent intrusion from the groundwater table — as well as overhead power lines. With more efficient ramps and turning lanes, the new bridge will provide a seamless, efficient transition to and from the southern terminus of the 710 Freeway at the east end of this major transportation link, and an integrated connection to State Route 47 and Terminal Island at the west end. The project features California’s first-ever “Texas U-turn,” a non-signaled undercrossing that enables continuous travel for trucks and cars.
