The long work of demolishing the now-defunct Gerald Desmond Bridge will begin in early May, the Port of Long Beach announced Friday, Feb. 25.
The iconic bridge’s main span will be the first to go, with the dsimanting and removal set to take place from 6 a.m. May 7 to 6 a.m. May 9, the port said in its announcement. The entire demolition, however, will take until the end of next year and will cost $59.9 million.
The 5,134-foot-long through-arch bridge opened in 1968 and was named for former Long Beach City Attorney Gerald Desmond, who had secured the funding to build the bridge.
But the bridge had deteriorated over the years and had become too narrow to accommodate the increase in truck traffic as the port’s cargo numbers increased. The bridge was also too low for the larger modern freighters to pass under it as they moved through the Back Channel.
Port and city officials had long wanted to replace the Gerald Desmond, which they finally succeeded in doing in October 2020, when the now-named Long Beach International Gateway Bridge opened. That opening came after seven years of construction that was marked by multiple delays and a $1.46 billion price tag.
The new bridge’s opening ended nearly six decade of vehicles traveling over the Gerald Desmond.
“The Gerald Desmond Bridge served this port, city and region well over 50 years,” Steven Neal, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, said in a statement. “It was time to build a safer, taller and wider span that will allow the Port of Long Beach to remain a primary gateway for trans-Pacific trade well into the future.”
Dismantling the decommissioned bridge will allow better access to the port’s Inner Harbor for large cargo vessels, the port said.
The weekend-long removal, however, will also close the Back Channel to vessel traffic for those days
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Significant waterway impacts are not expected after that first closure, according to port officials.
Vehicle traffic will not be affected by the demolition.
“The Gerald Desmond Bridge helped this port complex become one of the busiest in the world,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said in a statement. “It helped us reach new heights during an era of incredible, transformative growth in international trade.
“We will bid a fond farewell to the Gerald Desmond, and honor the memory of the man for whom it was named,” he added. “The new bridge that replaced it is a fitting and lasting tribute to the old span.”