In District 7, bridges get emergency fixes

Published:

Long Beach Bridge repair

Caltrans workers tend to a bridge in Long Beach that was damaged by a steel-carrying big rig that crashed.

District 7 photograph

By Marc Bischoff
District 7 public information officer

District 7 recently had two emergency Director’s Orders for bridge repairs. They were:

  • During the first two weeks of May, Caltrans implemented lane closures to perform emergency bridge repairs on State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) crossing over State Route 103 in Wilmington. Unsheltered persons had broken through the concrete of the abutment beneath the bridge deck and created a cave into which they moved. The structural damage in turn created a dangerous sink hole.
  • On May 2, a big rig carrying a 48,000-pound roll of steel traveling on northbound State Route 103 lost its load when the trailer broke just north of the juncture with State Route 47 in the Port of Long Beach. The steel bounced across the bridge deck, damaging the bridge deck and girders, guardrail and concrete barrier. For the next six weeks, the left lanes of northbound and southbound SR-103 were closed for emergency repairs. At times all lanes of northbound SR-103 were closed and all lanes of the SR-47 ramp to Henry Ford Avenue were closed. Repairs were completed and all lanes reopened on the afternoon of June 15.