Vincent Thomas Bridge Will Get A Makeover And Caltrans Wants Public Input

The historic Vincent Thomas Bridge, which serves as the main gateway to the Port of Los Angeles, needs a makeover.

About the bridge

Built in 1963 and spanning more than 6,000 feet, the bridge carries an average of 44,500 vehicles a day, and 11% of those are heavy trucks. That constant, heavy load has worn down the bridge's deck to the point that it needs replacing.

What's proposed

But first, Caltrans officials are seeking input from surrounding communities on proposed construction in 2025, because it will impact travel along State Route 47 and on nearby roadways.

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The various construction stages would either create a partial or full closure of lanes on the bridge for nine months or longer. Here’s a breakdown of those stages, according to a fact sheet from Caltrans.

• Single-stage construction: Full closure may last 9-12 months with detours and 24/7 work.
• Two-stage construction: Partial closure for up to 18-24 months, with one lane open and three closed, with night work and 55-hour closures — 24 to 30 months with no closures.
• Three-stage construction: Partial closure up to 24-30 months with one lane open and closed in each direction, with night work and 55-hour closures — 30 to 36 months with no closures.

Detours needed

Anticipated detour routes will redirect traffic to and from Terminal Island via the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge from the north and the Gerald Desmond Bridge from the east.

Here is a map that shows the potential detour routes.

A map of the proposed detour routes for redirecting traffic from the bridge.

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Courtesy of Caltrans

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What the community is saying

The proposed traffic detours are already concerning members of communities surrounding the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

Gary Herrera, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13, is concerned how traffic will affect his workers' schedules.

"There's railroad crossings that go right in front of the dispatch hall for the ILWU, which we get dispatched to go to work on a daily basis between the morning and the night," explains Herrera. He says closures due to the bridge replacement project should be coordinated in a way that doesn't shut down traffic.

Herrera adds that more than 50% of the workers live in the surrounding areas, and they're not going to be able to avoid the traffic.

Another major concern is that detour routes that will place most of the traffic burden on the neighborhood of Wilmington.

Concerns about traffic: pollution and street conditions

“We all know the ramifications of higher traffic in some of our communities,” said Ray Regalado, president of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council. “It affects the air. And, we already have air-affecting industries with the port constantly running, with the ships at our ports, the trucks that are going in and out.”

In Wilmington, the cancer risk is 98% higher than in the rest of the L.A basin as diesel exhaust pollutes the air.

"It's unfair really to the whole harbor region," said Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose district covers the bridge and surrounding communities.

On top of that, there's also a concern the streets are falling apart, and that the traffic will make it worse. The major streets used as detours include West Harry Bridges Boulevard, Alameda Street, Anaheim Street and Henry Ford Avenue.

"They're in terrible condition," said Herrera. "They have potholes in there that go 2 feet down. We've had members of our industry that have had to report accidents because they hit a pothole." He suggested the first step for Caltrans is to fix those streets — which McOsker calls one of his priorities.

"I'm gonna look to the state of California to provide funding and resources to maintain those detour routes and to repair those routes," he said.

When Adam Stevenson, a pastor at Warren Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, heard about the Vincent Thomas Bridge project, his mind immediately went to the Federal Correctional Institute on Terminal Island.

"What that will look like for the staff there, as well as the inmates because of the care level and the medical attention that many of the inmates have there?" he asked.

We reached out to FCI Terminal Island for comment, but have yet to hear back.

"That bridge is kind of a lifeline of our community," said Regalado.

Caltrans seeks feedback

Caltrans District 7 spokesperson Allison Colburn says those are the kind of concerns the agency wants to hear, so that it can work on minimizing the impact of construction.

Caltrans held two public meetings, one in person on April 27 and another held virtually on May 4.

However, Regalado says when he attended a meeting, less than 100 people showed up.

How to comment

After hearing concerns the meetings attracted small groups of people and that the public needed more time to comment and learn about the project, Caltrans extended the public comment period to July 10.

"We didn't receive a lot [of feedback] at first," said Colburn. "Now we're getting a lot in and we wanna keep receiving that. We wanna make sure that people still have time to submit."

Once the official public comment period ends, Colburn encourages community members to keep sending in comments.