Work starts on Gerald Desmond Bridge
23 September 2013
A consortium comprising Shimmick Construction Company (40%), FCC (30%) and Impregilo (30%) has begun work on the Gerald Desmond Bridge at the Port of Long Beach, near Los Angeles, US. On completion, it will have the tallest span height for a cable-stayed bridge in the US
The US$ 650 million design and build contract was awarded in July 2012.The project is expected to take four years to complete from the award date, with the bridge due for completion in mid-2016.
The bridge will be a 305 m span cable-stayed structure, with 61 m of vertical clearance above the Port’s Back Channel. It will have three motor vehicle lanes in each direction, emergency lanes on both sides for additional safety, a bike lane and a pedestrian lane. It will be built adjacent to the existing Gerald Desmond Bridge, which will remain open and in service until the new span is completed.
The old structure was built in the 1960s, and currently carries more than 15% of the waterborne cargo traffic of the US. It connects the heart of the Terminal Island port complex with the Port of Long Beach, and provides a route between the port and central Los Angeles, as well as other destinations in California.