UPDATE 5:05pm | The various contractors and engineering firms that have joined together to vie for the nearly $1 billion Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project contract hail from as nearby as Pasadena and as far away as Sweden.
After researching the backgrounds of each company, it appears that only one of the four teams elligible to submit proposals to the Port of Long Beach, California Department of Transportation and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is completely American-based.
Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. is a private, employee-owned, Fortune 500 contractor based in Omaha, Neb., and is one of the largest contractors in the world. The company was founded in 1884 by an American bricklayer of Dutch descent. Its engineering partner, T.Y. Lin International, is an American-based civil and structural engineering firm that was founded in San Francisco more than 50 years ago.
Dragados USA Inc. is the American branch of a giant Spanish infrastructure building and operating conglomerate and is headquartered in New York City. It’s engineering partners are FIGG Bridge Engineers Inc. and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., both of which are American-based companies. FIGG is headquartered in Tallahassee, while Jacobs is headquartered in nearby Pasadena.
Skanska Inc. is a construction firm based in Sweden. Partner Traylor/Massman is a New Orleans-based contracting company, and Buckland & Taylor Ltd. is a Canadian company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Finally, CH2M HILL Engineers Inc. is an American firm headquartered in Colorado.
Shimmick Construction Company Inc. is based in Hayward, Calif. It is partnering with Spain’s FCC Construction S.A., Italy’s Impregilo S.p.A., as well as Arup, headquartered in London, and Biggs Cardosa, based in San Jose.
The Port and the partnering transportation agencies are replacing the antiquated bridge based on the degree to which it is increasingly becoming structurally deficient in addition to its being so low as to cause cargo ships to enter the port only at low tide. The new bridge will be 50 to 60 feet higher.
The bridge was originally designed to carry light amounts of traffic, and the near constant traffic of today, along with the weight of heavy cargo trucks that can carry as many as 95,000 pounds of cargo if specially permitted, is taking its toll on the bridge. Chunks of concrete from the underside fall at such a regular interval that a “diaper” made of netting had to be installed to catch the falling debris and protect workers below.
In 2007, according to the Los Angeles Times, Caltrans gave the bridge a 43 out of 100 in terms of structural sufficiency, when it identified a number of serious flaws, including corrosion spots on the steel super structure.
The current bridge will remain in place while the new bridge is being built, meaning traffic will not have to be rerouted and drivers should not face any closures or major delays.
This Feb. 3, 2010, video by the Port of Long Beach provides an overview of plans to replace the ailing Gerald Desmond Bridge.
Editor’s note: The project dates stated in the video, which is more than a year old, are no longer pertinent due to various delays and/or unforeseen developments that have pushed the project back. Please refer to the dates noted in the story below for the current estimated timeline, which may or may not change as the project nears a start date.
7:26am | Replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge over the Port of Long Beach could begin as soon as 2012, officials said last week as they announced a narrowed pool of bidders seeking to procure the multi-million dollar project contract.
Four of the seven engineering and construction firms that, eying the contract, earlier this year submitted their qualifications for review have been deemed eligible by officials from the Port, the California Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to information provided by Port of Long Beach spokesman Art Wong.
The project is estimated to cost just under $1 billion, or about $950 million.
The Port of Long Beach is teaming with Caltrans, Metro and the U.S. Department of Transportation to tackle the massive undertaking.
The Gerald Desmond Bridge was erected in 1968 and connects Long Beach to Terminal Island. It sees a high volume of traffic, with thousands of cars and trucks traveling it daily, as part of the direct route from Long Beach to San Pedro. The antiquated through arch structure, however, was not built to handle such traffic.
The new bridge will be built using state-of-the-art engineering and technology and will feature additional traffic lanes as well as be higher to accommodate the modern, taller, more efficient cargo ships in use today.
The four firms selected to proceed in the bidding process are:
- Dragados USA Inc., which is a teaming of CC Meyers Inc., Dragados USA Inc., Figg Bridge Engineers Inc. and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc;
- Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., which is a teaming of Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. and T.Y. Lin International;
- Shimmick Construction Company Inc., which is a teaming of Shimmick Construction Company Inc., FCC Construction S.A./Impregilo S.p.A. and Arup/Biggs Cardosa; and
- Skanska, which is a teaming of Skanska/Traylor/Massman, Buckland & Taylor Ltd. and CH2M HILL Engineers Inc.
The teams were selected after Caltrans, Port and Metro officials reviewed each team’s statement of qualifications and breadth of experience, personnel, resources and other key factors.
“To build the best bridge possible, we sought out the best firms from around the world,” said Doug Thiessen, the Port’s managing director of engineering, in a prepared statement. “We had a very good response. We look forward to working closely with these four finalists during the final key phase of the selection process.”
Caltrans and the Port are preparing a request for proposals for the design and construction of the new bridge, ramp connectors and a bicycle/pedestrian path. Officials plan to invite the fur teams to submit their project proposals sometime late this year, paving the way for the project to possibly start as soon as next year.
“This new bridge will relieve traffic congestion and improve goods movement in the nation’s two busiest ports,” said Caltrans Director Cindy McKim in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to see this important project moving
According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, the bridge replacement project is expected to generate about 4,000 jobs a year for five years, or 20,000 jobs over the course of the project.
It is still too early to know exactly how traffic will be rerouted during the multi-year project
The Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project is the eighth design-build project authorized by the California Transportation Commission under state legislation (SB 4 and SBX2 4) signed in 2009. These new laws established a pilot program for the design-build method of procurement, which combines both design and construction into one contract to expedite the construction process and potentially cut project costs.
Additional information on the project is available online at PoLB.com/bridge.
An artist’s rendering of what the new Gerald Desmond Bridge might look like upon completion.