Final beam for Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement

The US$1.47 billion project was started in 2013 and open later this year.
By David Arminas May 1, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Final beam for California’s first cable-stayed bridge for vehicles (photo courtesy Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project)

The final steel beam has been installed for the replacement Port of Long Beach bridge - California’s first cable-stayed bridge for vehicles.

The beam was carefully lifted into position almost two years after construction began and which is expected to open later this year. The US$1.47 billion project to replace the current Gerald Desmond Bridge was started in 2013. The current bridge, finished in 1968, is a through arch steel structure that carries four lanes of Ocean Boulevard from Interstate 710 in Long Beach,

The new bridge will provide a higher clearance for cargo ships, possess a high degree of structural resilience against earthquakes and have a 100-year minimum lifespan. There will be six traffic lanes and four emergency shoulders, a bike and pedestrian path with scenic overlooks and more efficient transition ramps and connectors to improve traffic flow.

Assembling the main span over the Port’s Back Channel began in April 2018 with the lifting of the initial bolted sections of steel flooring to be attached to the first set of cables from the two 515-foot-tall towers.

Main-span construction requires deck sections to be added equally on both sides of the towers. Each floor beam is about 140 feet long and 10 feet tall, weighs about 32 tons and is connected to other steel components known as edge girders with more than 200 bolts.

Once a section of floor beams is bolted together, crews attach it to the tower with dozens of cables, then place pre-cast concrete road deck panels that form the road deck. There are 117 floor beams that support a main span that rises 205 feet over the water.

Additional major tasks left to do include a post-tensioning process by which cables are installed horizontally through the floor and pulled tight to increase the strength of the main span concrete deck.

The project is a joint effort by Caltrans – the California Department of Transportation - and the Port of Long Beach, with additional funding from the US Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • New EU-Russian highway connection
    February 18, 2013
    Among the forests and lakes of Finland, one of Europe's newest motorway links is being built as a Green highway linking Europe to Russia - Adrian Greeman reports The road eastwards from Finland's capital Helsinki, along the north coast of the Gulf of Finland, has not carried heavy traffic volumes, at least until recent times. Highway seven as it is designated locally, or E18 in European nomenclature, is partly motorway but in some sections still dual carriageway or even just a single lane each way, finishin
    Read More
  • Barrier innovations making roads safer
    February 21, 2013
    Developments in barrier technology continue to make roads safer for drivers - Mike Woof writes. Innovative new barrier technology is helping make roads safer for drivers. Key developments have been made in barrier design, helping ensure road and highway infrastructure is more passively safe. New barrier designs ensure that errant vehicles are redirected into the roadway, with reduced risks for occupants and also other road users. Continuously slipformed concrete barriers reinforced with steel are now widely
    Read More
  • Cifa equipment is pressed into service for Venice’s Mose project
    November 25, 2015
    The Mose project is a vast intervention plan by Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to protect Venice from flooding. It also has presented Cifa and its partners a big challenge for pumping concrete over a long distance. The work, being carried out by the Venezia Nuova Consortium, consisting of national and local construction and engineering companies, includes four mobile barriers consisting of 78 gates at the lagoon’s inlets. Most of the time the barriers will be resting on the seabed and not
    Read More
  • Cifa equipment is pressed into service for Venice’s Mose project
    November 25, 2015
    The Mose project is a vast intervention plan by Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to protect Venice from flooding. It also has presented Cifa and its partners a big challenge for pumping concrete over a long distance. The work, being carried out by the Venezia Nuova Consortium, consisting of national and local construction and engineering companies, includes four mobile barriers consisting of 78 gates at the lagoon’s inlets. Most of the time the barriers will be resting on the seabed and not
    Read More

Highlighted Content