The Vincent Thomas Bridge will periodically close overnight during a three-week period beginning as early as Monday, Oct. 2.
The bridge is slated to close in one or both directions from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning on some weeknights. Weekend closures are not anticipated.
The closures are necessary to install eight gates on the bridge that will help block unlawful access to the span’s cables, which has been an increasing problem for the California Department of Transportation.
Periodic bridge repair closures aren’t uncommon and signs about the upcomping ones will be posted. Online information is available at the Caltrans Quickmap site.
But looming ahead is a much bigger and separate project — not related to next month’s closures — that is anticipated to cause no shortage of traffic disruptions in years to come.
Planning continues for that massive project to replace the road deck on the mile-long suspension bridge, which could partially or entirely close the bridge for a year or more. Work for that is tentatively set to happen from 2025 to 2027 and among the major concerns is how rerouted traffic will impact local communities, including Wilmington, which already deals with heavy port truck traffic.
Caltrans staff, a spokesperson said, continues to work on the draft environmental impact report for that much larger road deck replacement project. The date for that report’s release has not yet been determined.
Advisory committees have been formed to help create mitigation recommendations for traffic-related impacts; the committees meet monthly to discuss concerns and propose solutions.
One community advisory committee held its first meeting in June and includes representatives from the neighborhood councils, local chambers of commerce, the business community and other organizations.
The meetings are also attended by representatives from the offices of seven elected officials and are intended to provide a community voice to identify…
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