Long Beach, California - May 6, 2022: Workers start the deconstruction of the Gerald Desmond Bridge near the Port of Long Beach from an aerial view with a drone.
The Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, California. This is the first cable-stayed vehicular bridge in California and the second tallest cable-stayed vehicular bridge in the nation.
Francis Scott Key Bridge - Baltimore, Maryland USA
Baltimore, MD USA - 4-5-2024 - Salvage efforts continue at the Francis Scott Key Bridge as President Biden arrives to pledge his support for rebuilding and for Baltimore.
Baltimore, Maryland, USA Skyline on the Inner Harbor at dusk.
Baltimore City seen from the sky by the highway
Baltimore, MD USA - 4-23-2024 The container vessel Dali is still trapped and aground under the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
- Webuild and its US subsidiary Lane have presented a preliminary proposal for the new Baltimore bridge.
- The government of Maryland has started the process for selecting the partner to entrust the construction of the new bridge
- The new infrastructure aims to bring Baltimore back into the top 10 North American seaports.
- The Maryland government estimates that the bridge could be completed by 2028 at a cost of between $1.7 and $1.9 billion.
- In California, Webuild and Lane constructed the Long Beach International Gateway, which serves the Port of Long Beach.
When the container ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing the entire structure to collapse like a house of cards, the impact was felt 3,000 miles away, all the way to the port of Long Beach, California. Port authorities on the West Coast of the United States immediately asked: Could a disaster of this magnitude happen in Long Beach?
“No. Any vessel that comes underneath the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge does not have to navigate around a pillar,” commented Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, to NBC 4 News, providing further reassurances about the safety of the bridge, which was completed just three years ago and has already become an indispensable support for the economic success of the area.
The example of the Long Beach International Gateway
For over 50 years, Long Beach had a bridge, the Gerald Desmond Bridge, erected right in front of the port basin. The structure prevented access for new ships, known as New Panamax, so those giants of the sea with their commercial cargo had to be diverted elsewhere. Thus, in 2013, the port authorities of Long Beach and the California Department of Transportation made a bold decision: to demolish the steel arch bridge and build a new, taller, wider, safer cable-stayed bridge.
The job was immediately assigned to a joint venture with Webuild and Lane Construction, which completed the new infrastructure, the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, in 2020 within the required timeframe. With its two 515-foot (157-meter) tall towers and its 2,000-foot (610-meter) span, the bridge has already become an icon of its kind and the subject of numerous awards and studies, not only from an architectural design perspective.
The work proceeded with innovative solutions to avoid hindering vehicle traffic to and from the port, while also not interrupting maritime transit. The new structure was built alongside the old one, which remained operational but was to be demolished immediately after the Gateway’s inauguration.
One goal guided the operations of Webuild and Lane: about 15% of all container maritime traffic in North America would have to pass under the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, and the new infrastructure connection would be crucial for the regional and national economy.
Not even the pandemic emergency halted the bridge’s construction. Thanks to protective measures for technicians and workers, construction continued uninterrupted even during COVID-19. The $1.5 billion, 9,996-ton bridge was inaugurated in 2020, becoming California‘s first major cable-stayed bridge, the most elegant structure integrated with the Long Beach waterfront urban landscape, and the one with the highest seismic design standards for bridges.
The demolition of the old bridge, which began immediately after the International Gateway’s inauguration, was completed in July 2023, freeing the Long Beach port area from any hindrance to its economic growth. Last April, the port authority announced a 14.4% increase in operations compared to the same month in 2023, having handled 750,424 container units. This figure is very close to that of the twin port of Los Angeles (770,373 TEU, up 12%).
The Maryland project: a new bridge to support growth
Immediately after the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, Webuild and its American company Lane sent the government of Maryland a preliminary pro-bono proposal for the construction of a bridge capable to support economic growth and safety to the transit of motor vehicles and the maritime traffic underneath. Meanwhile, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has started work to demolish the remains of the Key Bridge and clear the seabed of the port from debris. Then, MDTA announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select the partner to award the design and construction of the new bridge. The selection and awarding process of the works is expected by this summer.
The new infrastructure must bring Baltimore back into the top 10 North American seaports, benefiting maximally from the capabilities recognized at the time of the construction of the new Panama Canal (built by Webuild in 2016), which positioned Baltimore among the only four ports on the East Coast (along with Norfolk, New York/New Jersey, and Miami) with sufficient water depth to accommodate New Panamax ships. A depth achieved on the Pacific coast by Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, and Seattle.
The new Key Bridge, which the Maryland government estimates could be completed by 2028 at a cost of between $1.7 and $1.9 billion, will be an indispensable resource for the revitalization of Baltimore and the entire area near the capital Washington D.C., after months of suspended vehicle and maritime traffic in a strategic water channel for the United States, with its 700 feet (213 meters) of width and 50 feet (15 meters) of maneuvering depth.
