CLOSURE COMING, COMMENTS WANTED

by Lee Williams

The Vincent Thomas Bridge is about to turn 60, and this historic structure is in need of a major overhaul to remain safe for the 53,000 daily trips across her every day.

Once called “The Bridge to Nowhere” before its completion, the Vincent Thomas is an integral part of local commutes and port operations. Prolonging the life of the bridge calls for a complete deck replacement and the addition of seismic sensors. Caltrans is in the early stages of creating a plan that will be included in an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to be delivered by early January. A recent scoping meeting drew only three people due to poor outreach by Caltrans to the impacted communities. A second meeting, this time virtual, brought almost 100 people, including Supervisor Janice Hahn and Councilmember Tim McOsker. Our elected officials were able to convince Caltrans to extend the public comment to July 10.

Stakeholders are being asked to consider three options of closures and to comment on the impacts these closures will have on the surrounding community. The first option is a complete closure of all lanes for 9 to 12 months with construction going on 24/7 until complete. Caltrans is being asked to consider possible builder incentives to meet or beat these timelines. The second option is to close all but one lane of the bridge for 18 to 24 months with workers switching traffic back and forth using just one lane. The third option is to keep one lane open in each direction and is expected to take 24 to 30 months. Both the second and third options would require nighttime and extended weekend closures, or their timelines would need to add another six months.

Wilmington is already suffering from the impacts of trucks running through their neighborhoods. The almost 5,000 additional trucks that currently use the Vincent Thomas Bridge every day could have devastating effects on a community already fighting for less commercial traffic on their streets, for less idling trucks spewing toxins in their neighborhoods, and to fix the streets already heavily damaged by truck traffic.

The neighborhood councils, the Port of LA, both chambers of commerce, and our elected officials are working hard to support measures to protect Wilmington residents as much as possible, including making repairs to streets before, during, and after any of these closure options.

Built in 1963, the bridge originally cost $21 million and took three years to build. The estimated cost of repairs is about $630 million and may increase depending on which option is selected, changes in scope, and possible mitigation measures from the impacts of traffic detours.

The next steps are to complete the scoping period allowing for public comment until July 10. Then Caltrans plans to have the EIR completed in December for the community to review and make additional comments. The final design is expected to be completed by July 2025 with new construction to begin in October 2025. Additional information and the Caltrans presentation can be found at virtualeventroom.com/caltrans/vtb.

Every idea and comment will be reviewed, including bringing back a ferry to shuttle commuters between San Pedro and Long Beach. Ferries may even be an option for port and longshore workers getting to and from San Pedro.

Other folks are concerned about how this could affect the opening of West Harbor and other waterside attractions.

More outreach needs to be done by Caltrans in Spanish. The online meeting I attended had a Spanish interpreter, but the complicated directions to gain access were explained in English. Wilmington has a high Spanish-speaking population. Since they will be some of the most affected, there should be more accommodation to help Spanish speakers participate in the direction of the project.

Groundbreaking on this project is over two years away, so now is the time to provide feedback and ideas to make this restoration as quick and painless as possible for all the communities affected. Emails can be sent to caltransvtb@virtualeventroom.net with the subject line: VTB Deck Replacement Project. spt

Lee Williams leads The Lee Williams Real Estate Group at REAL Broker and is a Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner. He can be reached at lee@lamove.com.