Overpasses, Bridge Work Proposed in Harbor Area

Erecting two overpasses on Alameda Street in Carson and widening the Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach are among projects being considered by transportation officials as part of a $74-million highway improvement program in the harbor area.

The program, authorized by federal legislation last month, is the second part of a two-phase, $132-million improvement plan for the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. Transportation officials said the projects are meant to alleviate traffic problems--particularly those caused by trucks and trains using the ports.

The plan is designed to facilitate expansion of the two ports and accommodate growth in Pacific Rim trade during the next several decades. Studies cited by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which is administering the plan, estimate that the two ports would lose $46 billion in commercial business between the years 2000 and 2020 without the improvements.

Congress approved $58 million in 1982 for the first phase of improvements, including the resurfacing and re-striping of Anaheim Street between Harbor Scenic Drive in Long Beach and the eastern boundary of Wilmington, and the planned widening of Alameda Street between Lomita Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Anderson (D-Harbor City), who obtained federal money for the improvements, met last week in San Pedro with Mayor Tom Bradley, president of the Transportation Commission, and other local officials to discuss local funding for the improvements. The federal government will pay for 80% of the work, while local and state governments must pay the remainder.

The officials will meet again in two weeks to determine what projects will be funded in the second phase of the improvement plan. In addition to the bridge widening and the construction of overpasses at Alameda at Carson Street and Alameda at Del Amo Boulevard, proposed improvements include widening Alameda between Del Amo and the Artesia Freeway, building an interchange on the Long Beach Freeway at Ocean Boulevard, and constructing an overpass between Seaside Avenue and the Vincent Thomas Bridge.