UPDATE 3:23pm Friday | Last night’s closure of the Gerald Desmond Bridge to through traffic was not related to any scheduled maintenance, a Port of Long Beach spokesman said.
In an e-mail sent this morning, the Port of Long Beach’s assistant director of communications, Art Wong, said that that the bridge was closed for a film shoot.
The closure began at 6 p.m. last night and ran through about 5 a.m. this morning. Traffic had to be diverted, causing delays of roughly 20 minutes or more for commuters.
1:56pm Thursday | Drivers who use the Gerald Desmond Bridge during their daily commute between Long Beach and San Pedro should plan to take a different route home tonight, officials said.
The Long Beach Police Department earlier today issued a warning alerting drivers that the through-arch bridge traversing the Port of Long Beach would be completely shut down to through traffic beginning at 6 p.m. this evening.
The bridge is not scheduled to reopen until about 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, according to the alert.
Traffic will be diverted, and commuters should expect delays. Cars traveling westbound Ocean Boulevard from downtown Long Beach will be diverted at Golden Shore. Cars traveling eastbound Ocean Boulevard from the Port area toward downtown Long Beach will be diverted at the Terminal Island Freeway, according to the LBPD.
The bridge, constructed in 1968, is plagued by myriad maintenance issues due to its age, and the Port of Long Beach last August approved a roughly $800 million plan to replace it with a modern cable-stayed bridge.