Officials in Long Beach, Calif., are espousing the benefits of the recently opened Port of Long Beach bridge, which they said reaffirms the region’s importance to international shipping.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia dedicated the state’s first cable-stayed bridge for traffic, hailing the 515-foot-tall, two-tower span structure vital to triggering national cargo movement while also providing a transportation link for Los Angeles and Orange counties commuters.
“We know that this project is a phenomenal marvel of architecture and infrastructure. It connects our Port and the world to each other,” Garcia said. “All of the commerce that we depend on will go over this bridge — connecting Long Beach to the rest of the country.”
Jointly funded by the Port of Long Beach, Caltrans, the Department of Transportation, and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the project’s completion represents the end of a nearly 10-year, $1.47 billion effort to replace the 52-year-old Gerald Desmond Bridge, which was too narrow and too low to accommodate today’s roadway cargo traffic demands and the larger cargo ships that began arriving at the Port of Long Beach years ago.
“This new bridge is another major milestone in the Port’s ongoing commitment to remain the most advanced and most competitive port in the world,” Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said. “It is much more than a convenient roadway. It is a critical link in the global movement of cargo. It is a bridge to everywhere.”
Authorities indicated the bridge would be named later through state legislation and eventually include a bicycle and walking path providing visitors with a 205-foot-high view of the southern California coastline.