Vincent Thomas Bridge to close for nearly a year and a half for construction, likely starting late 2025
State transportation officials said Monday that they will shut down the bridge completely to replace the deteriorating deck, rather than keep some lanes open and significantly extend the closure.
The Vincent Thomas Bridge, a key access point for the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, will be completely closed for 16 months to replace the aging concrete bridge deck, Caltrans officials announced Monday.
Port-related businesses and residents in Long Beach and surrounding cities have expressed concerns about how the bridge closure will affect traffic and access to the area, with one Los Angeles City Councilmember describing the potential for “Harborgeddon.”
The state transportation agency considered four alternatives – three of which would have kept some lanes open or confined work to nights and weekends – but the “selection of the single-stage option allows for the shortest construction time, is the safest construction alternative, most cost-efficient alternative, and provides opportunities to improve construction schedule,” a Caltrans news release said.
Fully shutting down the bridge and using pre-cast decking (rather than pouring concrete on-site) allows the shortest closure and was the option preferred by executives at both ports, shippers, several local chapters of a port workers’ union and an organization that represents harbor trucking companies.
But others worry that a complete closure will clog other routes and potentially send more vehicles through neighborhoods.
"While I have heard from Caltrans workers that a full closure is safer for them to do their work, without a good detour plan I worry about traffic being rerouted through the Wilmington community. Caltrans needs to address that," Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement; her district includes Long Beach, San Pedro and Wilmington.
Caltrans will try to assuage those fears by hosting open house events before construction starts and by creating a task force to plan detours and make sure other local road construction projects are factored in, according to the news release.
With the chosen construction schedule, replacing the deck of the 60-year-old bridge is projected to cost about $620 million.
The other bridge closure options Caltrans studied could have extended the project to as long as four years. Construction on the Vincent Thomas Bridge is expected to start late next year or in early 2026.
The final environmental report, including responses to more than 260 comments, and other information can be found on the project website.
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