To carry out construction of the segments of the new Gerald Desmond Bridge, crews are using twin movable scaffolding systems (MSS). Each unit weighs 3.1 million pounds and supports formwork to allow for an efficient construction of the bridge. Pictured is the blue MSS on the east end of the bridge. ” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”off” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”none” overlay_revealfx=”off”] Things are really looking up in downtown Long Beach.
Sometime next year, residents will be able to walk or bike 200 feet high above the port and Los Angeles River, vehicular traffic flow between downtown Long Beach and San Pedro will improve— with the addition of a third lane each way and emergency lanes on both the inner and outer shoulders in each direction— and the Port of Long Beach’s main channel will be able to accommodate most of the world’s largest ships.
That’s all if construction on the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project continues to go as planned— and, so far, with much intricate preparation, things are falling— or being carefully inserted— into place.
In early December, after a celebration of topping out the new towers, the formwork structures that were used to construct them in 20-foot segments were removed, exposing 10 pairs of casings into which 10 cables will be inserted as part of the cable-stayed construction of the bridge. The 20 casings appear as black dots on both faces of the tower and curve diagonally from the lowest pair to the highest.
In two months, crews will lift pier tables onto the four falsework columns that are constructed around the base of each tower. The pier tables will build the main span of the bridge in sections. As each one is built, a cable will be strung through the proper pair of casings to attach to the section in two places, holding it in place to allow the tower to bear the load of its weight.
Officials anticipate the first cables to be put in place in late April or early May, revealing what is expected to be one of the most “iconic” aspects of the new bridge.
The construction site has been a complex jigsaw puzzle of sorts, with numerous factors to consider: a nearby rail line, vehicular traffic, 710 Freeway access, oil wells— so many moving parts that extend outward, upward and downward.
The tremendous undertaking to replace the original 1.5-mile-span Desmond Bridge, which was completed in 1968, is currently the second-largest construction project in the state. Named after a former city attorney and councilmember of Long Beach, the old bridge has served the port and city for decades, but increased traffic volume and time have taken their toll.
With nearly 15 percent of the country’s waterborne cargo transported across the bridge, it is an important access route for the port.
The replacement project, which is a joint effort of Caltrans and the port, with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will result in a new cable-stayed bridge with 205 feet of clearance over the channel.
In a phone interview Tuesday morning, Duane Kenagy, interim deputy executive director for the port, said the new bridge will improve operations at the harbor in several ways.
“First, the new bridge is designed to meet full geometric standards that modern roadways are constructed with, so the capacity of the new bridge will accommodate the growth that we’ve seen,” Kenagy said. “So, we’ll have less congestion on the bridge itself. The approach grades are flatter, so trucks will have an easier time navigating up and over the bridge.”
Kenagy also said that, unlike the older bridge, which only had two lanes going in each direction, the new one will feature wide emergency lanes on each side.
“If we do have an incident on the bridge, the emergency shoulders are available for first-responders to rapidly respond to any incidents,” he said, “whether it’s a mechanical breakdown or an accident or— you may remember a few years ago, there was a spectacular fire at the top of the existing bridge that required the bridge to be closed for a number of hours.”
The 200-plus-foot clearance will welcome some new sights— the largest ships to ever pass through the channel.
“On the marine-operations side, the new bridge will accommodate much larger vessels desiring to visit any of our terminals in the inner-harbor area,” Kenagy said. “Right now, there are a number of vessels that routinely call at the Port of Long Beach that cannot get under the existing bridge due to vertical-clearance issues.”
Although a brochure published by the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project states that the new structure’s taller span will increase its ability to handle the largest ships in the world, Kenagy said he would hesitate to say “largest ships.”
“Certainly, all the larger vessels that we anticipate would desire to call at any of our marine terminals in the inner-harbor area would be capable of getting in there,” Kenagy said. “The very largest vessels— the 18,000-, 20,000-, 22,000-TEU vessels— will probably continue to call just at our outer-harbor terminals, which are fully capable of taking virtually any vessel.”
Denis Wolcott, whose public-relations firm is representing the project, took the Signal Tribune on a close-up tour of the construction site Monday morning. As he drove under the newly completed westbound lanes of the bridge, Wolcott described the number of different factors affecting the busy build area.
Wolcott explained that the approaches, including the three westbound lanes and emergency areas, have recently been completed.
“So, what’s not started yet is the main span,” he said. “That will be the most majestic-looking, signature part of the bridge. So, up until now, you have columns supporting these approaches. When you get to the middle section, it’s supported by cables. The cables will hold them up from the top down.”
Wolcott pointed out the curved arrangement of holes in the towers, into which the cables will connect.
“You have cables attached to the center part of the tower— you’ll see the holes where these [cables] go into,” he said. “There’s a very strong structure that’s holding them inside— steel casing that holds these cables, and the cables get strung down into the deck. The connectors are going to be kind of a suspension mode— they’ll have a little bit of flex to them— so it can move. This will be a very flexible bridge when it’s done because it’s built-designed with earthquakes in mind.”
Wolcott further explained that this project is one that is a design-build undertaking, meaning the designers are involved in the process throughout the construction process to address issues as they arise and make adjustments accordingly, as opposed to a project that involves designers and builders who work independently of each other.
“You have two different types of deck coming together at this point,” he said. “The approaches are on columns, and the span is being supported by cables. You have two different things you have to connect here. So, this point where it connects has a lot of flexibility built into it because you have a cable-supported span with a really rigid, more column-supported approach.”
As for when drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to use the new bridge, Wolcott said one direction will be available before the other.
“Under current plans, the bridge will open with the westbound lanes first,” Wolcott said. “And for a time being, you’ll have westbound traffic on the new bridge and eastbound traffic on the old Gerald Desmond Bridge, until the eastbound lanes of the new bridge are completed.”
More information is available at newgdbridge.com. The project can also be followed on Instagram or Twitter @newgdbridge or on Facebook at newgdbridge.
