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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