Weekend closure completes $65 million Long Beach highway project

Weekend closure completes $65 million Long Beach highway project The last stages of a $65 million highway interchange project at the Port of Long Beach will close a major artery through the port this weekend.
   The port will temporarily close the westbound lanes of the Gerald Desmond Bridge and Ocean Boulevard to Terminal Island between the southbound Long Beach (Interstate 710) Freeway and Navy Way from 9 p.m. March 23, until 5 a.m. March 26, to complete the project.
   The eastbound lanes of Ocean Boulevard and the Gerald Desmond Bridge will remain open.
   Motorists driving from downtown Long Beach to San Pedro are advised to take Pacific Coast Highway or Anaheim Street to the Harbor (110) Freeway.
   Motorists, truckers and others headed to Pier T on Terminal Island in the Port of Long Beach are advised to take Anaheim Street and the Heim Bridge or the eastbound Vincent Thomas Bridge from San Pedro. The only access to Pier 400 on Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles will be via the eastbound Vincent Thomas Bridge from San Pedro.
   During the closure, a reconstructed westbound Ocean Boulevard roadway will be reconnected from a temporary detour road. The eastbound lanes were reconnected in January.
   The $65 million Ocean Boulevard and Terminal Island (47) Freeway interchange project has raised the boulevard nearly 20 feet, eliminating two Terminal Island traffic signals so that east-west traffic can travel non-stop between the Gerald Desmond Bridge and Navy Way. Upon completion, local access to Terminal Island facilities from Ocean Boulevard will be via on- and off-ramps. The interchange is used by nearly 50,000 drivers a day.
   Agencies involved in funding the project include the U.S. Department of Transportation, California Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Port of Long Beach.