Gerald Desmond Bridge
| Gerald Desmond Bridge | |
|---|---|
The 1968 Gerald Desmond Bridge spans the Back Channel, connecting Long Beach with Terminal Island.
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| Coordinates | 33°45′52″N 118°13′16″W / 33.76444°N 118.22111°WCoordinates: 33°45′52″N 118°13′16″W / 33.76444°N 118.22111°W |
| Carries | 5 lanes of Ocean Blvd between  SR 47 and  I-710
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| Crosses | Back Channel |
| Locale | Terminal Island and Long Beach, California |
| Named for | Gerald Desmond |
| Owner | Port of Long Beach |
| NBI | 53C0065 |
| Preceded by | 1944 pontoon bridge |
| Followed by | 2018 cable-stayed span |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | through arch bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 5,134 ft (1,565 m) |
| Width | 67.3 ft (21 m) |
| Height | 250 ft (76 m) |
| Longest span | 527 ft (161 m) |
| Clearance above | 18.4 ft (6 m) |
| Clearance below | 155 ft (47 m) |
| History | |
| Designer | Moffatt & Nichol |
| Constructed by | Bethlehem Steel |
| Construction begin | October 19, 1965 |
| Construction end | June 1968 |
| Construction cost | US$12,700,000 (equivalent to $87,470,000 in 2016) |
| Rebuilt | 1995–2000 |
| Closed | 2018 (scheduled) |
| Replaces | 1944 pontoon bridge |
| Replaced by | 2018 cable-stayed span |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 62,057 (2012) |
 Gerald Desmond Bridge
Location in Long Beach, California
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| Gerald Desmond Bridge (new bridge) | |
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Rendering of the replacement bridge
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| Carries | 6 lanes of I-710
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| Crosses | Back Channel |
| Locale | Terminal Island and Long Beach, California |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Total length | 8,800 ft (2,682 m) |
| Height | 515 ft (157 m) |
| Longest span | 1,000 ft (305 m) |
| Clearance below | 205 ft (62 m) |
| History | |
| Architect | Brownlie Ernst and Marks |
| Designer | Arup |
| Engineering design by | Arup |
| Constructed by | Shimmick/FCC/Impreglio (SFI) Joint Venture |
| Construction begin | January 8, 2013 |
| Construction end | est. 2018 |
| Construction cost | est. US$1,500,000,000 (equivalent to $1,515,580,000 in 2016) |
The Gerald Desmond Bridge is a through arch bridge that carries four lanes of Ocean Boulevard from Interstate 710 in Long Beach, California, west across the Back Channel to Terminal Island. The bridge is named after Gerald Desmond, a prominent civic leader and a former city attorney for the City of Long Beach.
Prior to 1944, the only road access to Terminal Island was via Badger Avenue (later Henry Ford Avenue, after an assembly plant that was built on the island) over the Henry Ford Bridge.
The first bridge linking the eastern end of Terminal Island and Long Beach was an unnamed "temporary" pontoon bridge constructed during World War II to accommodate traffic resulting from the expansion of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The pontoon bridge was intended to last six months, but was not replaced until 1968, 24 years after it had opened. Depending on the level of the tide, road traffic had to descend 17 to 25 feet (5.2 to 7.6 m) below the level on the shore. When marine traffic required the bridge to open, traffic delays of up to 15 minutes could occur. An estimate of seven people died after driving off the pontoon bridge.
The 1968 through-arch bridge was designed by Moffatt & Nichol Engineers and was constructed by Bethlehem Steel as a replacement for the World War II-era pontoon bridge. Gerald Desmond served as City Attorney for Long Beach and played a significant role in obtaining tideland oil funds which helped finance the bridge that would later bear his name. Desmond died in office at age 48 of kidney cancer. One year after Desmond's death in January 1964, ground-breaking for the construction of the new bridge occurred on October 19, 1965, and it was completed in June 1968. Desmond's son, also named Gerald, sank the final "golden" bolt.
It has a 527-foot-long (161 m) suspended main span and a 155-foot (47 m) vertical clearance spanning the Cerritos Channel. The western terminus of the bridge is on the east side of Terminal Island; the eastern terminus is close to downtown Long Beach. The bridge separates the inner harbor (north of the bridge) of the Port of Long Beach from the middle harbor.
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Wikipedia