January 22 - Construction has begun on a USD1 billion project to replace the Gerald Desmond bridge at the Port of Long Beach, California, USA.
The project is expected to take four years to complete. The new bridge will raise the clearance over the channel from 155 ft (47.2 m) to 200 ft (61 m), allowing the world's biggest cargo ships to reach the inner berths of the Port of Long Beach.
The port already serves some of the world's largest ships at some of its piers, but the height of the Gerald Desmond bridge restricts these large ships from entering the inner channels.
Furthermore, the new bridge will simultaneously expand a key highway that carries 15 percent of all goods entering the US.
"A new bridge is vital to our port tenants, to our communities and to businesses around the world that depend on us to move their goods," said Port of Long Beach executive director J. Christopher Lytle.
www.newgdbridge.com
