LBPOST.com: Port Schedules Two Public Meetings About New Bridge

Thursday, March 11, 2010 | Home

Port Schedules Two Public Meetings About New Bridge

by Ryan ZumMallen | Long Beach News | 02.04.10 |

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1:15pm | The Port of Long Beach this morning announced upcoming dates for the public to meet and express their opinions about plans to replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge with a brand new design. The new bridge will expand to accommodate three lanes each way, plus an emergency lane. The project will cost approximately $1.1 billion and provide about 5,000 jobs over four years of construction.

The dates and locations of the public comment sessions are listed below:

6:00pm: Wednesday, February 17 - City Hall Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.
6:00pm: Wednesday, February 24 - Silverado Park, 1545 W. 31st Street

Click here to visit the Port's bridge webpage and download the Environmental Impact Report.

Port officials will make a short presentation during each public meeting. The new bridge aims to improve the deteriorating structure while allowing easier passage for commuter vehicles and increasing clearance so that larger state-of-the-art cargo ships may pass underneath.

Port executive director Richard Steinke addressed the plans in his annual State of the Port address last week.

"More than 40 years old, this obsolete bridge was designed at a time when no one could have imagined the growth in world trade, much less the major role that the Port of Long Beach plays in that international exchange of goods," Steinke said. "It must be replaced."

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Comments

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Mark Bixby
Hope we'll see east & west bicycle paths on that new billion dollar bridge. Port of LB is committed to clean air, right?

lbresident
I also hope they'll finally commit to paying for reconfiguring the breakwater. Pier j exansion took the beach. The port should be a good corporate citizen and give it back.

Paul
Does the bridge really need to be replaced or just repaired? We know replacement will allow lager ships, but considering the smog put out by them, perhaps our health will be more important.

CHARLIE
Why do you need public opinion on a new bridge that will increase our Port capability? It needs to be replaced anyway due to age and serviceability - BUILD IT!

E. Thor Carlson
Hay, here's a thought. Let's get world renounced architect, sculptor, and structural engineer Santiago Calatrava to design our new bridge. Long Beach deserves a world class bridge that will be an icon; not some hacked, mediocre, third rate knock off by a design committee. We call ourselves an International City; now let's stop acting like some provincial backwater and start designing our City with greatness in mind, not mediocracy.

Randy LB Res
Mark Bixby, from it appears on the picture above, there are bicycle lanes in both directions. But let's not take that for granted so you must attend on of the hearings on the bridge to voice your opinion and wants. Otherwise, guess what? A closed mouth doesn't get fed! Regards and good luck...

John
Where, exactly, does the $1.1 bil come from?

LS
A bike path to terminal island sounds like a great bike ride destination. How about making it a green lane and extend it over the Vincent Thomas bridge as well. How much will that cost...

Resident
Instead of looking outside of the state for Designers and contractors we should hire local companies to generate a majority of those jobs here in the local economy. I think one of the Engineering firms working on the project now is from out of state

WalkingBy
John a very good question, where will the money come from??

Hayley
Money comes from the federal government allocated for these types of projects.

BUGGA BOO BOO
Ah Good, Obama will come in handy on this one.:>) Lots of good jobs!

Joseph E
According to the official documents, the planners don't believe people will want to ride bikes or walk over this bridge. They plan to turn Ocean Blvd into a limited-access highway ("Freeway") between the LA river and San Pedro. Bikes will be prohibited from going through the new intersection with 710, in one set of plans. If you want to be able to walk or bike over this bridge, please send your comments and request that bikes be allowed on the shoulders and that sidewalks be included. Yes, it is an industrial area, but it can be a great hike or recreational bike ride, and is the fastest way to get to San Pedro by bike. You can mail comments to Richard Cameron, Director of Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802, or by e-mail to cameron@polb.com. Comments are due by 4:30 p.m., March 18, 2010. If that rendering above is accurate, a bi-direcitional bike and pedestrian path could fit between the two directions of traffic, fitting thru the gap in the piers, like on the Brooklyn Bridge. This could be a safe and useful route for people on bikes and walking. Let's not waste 1 billion just for truck traffic from the port, when a few million could make these pedestrian and bike improvements happen.

David Alpern
Too bad that the current bridge, built just over 40 years ago, is already defunct. I hope this infrastructure project will help create jobs locally and will produce a bridge that is both a beautiful local landmark and capable of servicing the area's transportation needs for a much longer period of time. (We need a longer warranty this time!)

TT LB
What's with all the bridge haters? I live within walking distance of it and completely support a rebuild. I suppose these are the same folks who hate the airport. Move to the country if you can't handle living in a major metropolis with commerce and industry surrounding you.

Long Beach News

LBPOST.com Managing Editor Ryan ZumMallen keeps up on all the current and breaking Long Beach news.

Ryan ZumMallen is a graduate of the CSULB School of Journalism, writing for the campus' Union Weekly newspaper and serving as Sports Editor for one year. He has written for numerous news and sports websites and magazines, as well as television experience with Fox Sports and ABC Channel 7.