This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

7th Street Bridge: A Major Milestone For West County Connectors

As the West County Connectors project heads toward the halfway completion mark, one of the projects major milestones was recently completed.

As the West County Connectors project heads toward the halfway completion mark, one of the projects major milestones was recently completed. If you’ve tried getting into Long Beach the past year, you know what we’re talking about.

The 7th Street bridge linking the northbound I-405 and westbound SR-22 reconstruction is completed. Although the process was long and often a source of frustration,  everyone on the project team greatly appreciates your patience and understanding as we forge ahead.  

Completed on April 28, the 7th Street bridge has undergone a total transformation since construction started in April 2011. During the course of the year, it was completely demolished and reconstructed just south from its original location.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Reconstruction of the bridge was necessary to accommodate a new 6-mile carpool lane in each direction on the I-405 freeway beneath the bridge. When finished, the carpool lane will extend between the SR-22 and I-605.

A few facts about the new bridge:

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • The bridge foundation includes 322 concrete and steel piles
  • Crews used more than 1.3 million pounds of reinforcing steel on the structure
  • The highest point of the bridge is approximately 45 feet
  • The new bridge is nearly 750 feet in length, with two lanes of traffic plus shoulders
  • The bridge was built using ‘quiet deck’ technology, minimizing car noise for those in the surrounding communities  

The bridge, which cost $2.1 million, is part of $277 million effort to improve traffic flow by directly connecting carpool lanes on the I-405, I-605 and SR-22.

The West County Connectors project is being built in two segments. The east segment is creating direct carpool connections between the I-405 and SR-22 at Valley View Street. In addition, the east segment is reconstructing the southbound I-405 to eastbound SR-22 connector and reconstructing the Valley View Street bridge crossing over the SR-22.

The west segment is providing direct carpool connections between the I-405 and I-605 and reconstructing the Seal Beach Boulevard and northbound I-405 / westbound SR-22 / 7th Street bridges.

For information and to sign up for construction alerts, visit: www.OCTA.net/wcc.

 Drive safely!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?