VIDEO: Design unveiled for Gerald Desmond Bridge

The consortium selected by the California Department of Transportation to build the new Gerald Desmond Bridge at the Port of Long Beach has announced details of the six-lane structure.

The cable-stayed bridge will have a central span of 305 m, and will provide some 61 m of clearance to the port's Back Channel. Each end span will be 152 m long for a total length of 609 m to be supported by the cables. Approach viaducts will measure 950 m at the western end and 925 m at the eastern end, and will be built from precast and cast in-situ box girders with spans from 40 m to 75 m between supporting structures.

The project is expected to take five years to complete and the contracting consortium comprises Shimmick Construction (40%), FCC (30%) and Impregilo (30%).

The original Gerald Desmond Bridge was completed in the 1968 and is a through-arch structure with a 120 m central span and clearance above the channel of 47 m.