Before 1963, getting from San Pedro to Terminal Island meant taking a ferry across the Main Channel. While planning the Vincent Thomas Bridge deck replacement, Caltrans asked the Port of Los Angeles about bringing that kind of service back during the closure. The Port said it couldn't be done. Its reasons were ferries crossing a working shipping channel, building landings on both sides, buying boats, hiring crews and finding parking for riders, according to the Caltrans project FAQ.
So starting Nov. 7, and for the 16 months after, nothing goes straight across the channel. Long Beach is the long way around. Meanwhile, the season's new waterfront programming is lined up on the San Pedro side, mostly within a few blocks of Sixth Street and Harbor Boulevard.
Caltrans fully closes the bridge at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. That's six days later than the Nov. 1 start that was announced at first. The Daily Breeze reported that Caltrans moved the date to finish "final coordination" and to get the most construction done once the bridge is fully closed. The target for reopening is still early March 2028.
Caltrans puts the work at $750 million. Crews will replace the concrete deck, the center median, the railings, the fencing and the signs. Caltrans says the deck is now severely deteriorated from decades of heavy traffic and salt air. A final phase after reopening removes the temporary work platforms and installs new seismic sensors, according to the Caltrans fall/winter fact sheet.
The bridge has never had room for bikes or pedestrians, and the rebuilt deck won't either. It keeps the same two lanes in each direction.
Caltrans's plan sends Terminal Island traffic in by two routes. From the north it uses the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge on SR-47, and from the east the Gerald Desmond Bridge corridor. The FAQ lists West Harry Bridges Boulevard, Alameda Street and Henry Ford Avenue among the streets involved. The same FAQ says the detours can change during construction depending on real-time conditions and community feedback. Caltrans's detour route page has the official map. The goal was to keep traffic on state highways and off local streets as much as possible.
The prep work on those streets is already done. In an October 12 update in Random Lengths News, Councilmember Tim McOsker's office said the local streets on the detour, especially in Wilmington, had been repaired and repaved before the closure. The council district says it will bring them back to the same standard after the bridge reopens.
Here's what Caltrans has said about managing the extra traffic:
The Port of Los Angeles says all of its terminals will stay open. Only 8% of the port complex's drayage truck traffic uses the bridge, though the Port admits the detours "may add some extra time" for those drivers, according to its bridge project page.
If you take the bus, the route to watch is LADOT Commuter Express 142. It runs between Ports O' Call/Sampson in San Pedro and the Long Beach Transit Gallery, and its map goes by way of Terminal Island and SR-47. As of mid-October, LADOT's route page still shows the schedule marked "Effective February 2026" and no closure-related change. Check that page before Nov. 7. The neighborhood's DASH San Pedro line stays inside San Pedro, running from Western Avenue at Park Western Plaza down to Western and 25th.
There's also a separate project on the San Pedro side. Clearwater tunnel drilling started again on Oct. 13 near the Western Avenue and Fifth Street cul-de-sac. It closes one southbound lane on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for at least two months, depending on weather, the Daily Breeze reported. That puts it right in the first weeks of the bridge closure.
Then there's the weather. Forecasts call for a wetter, stormier winter in Los Angeles County this season. Caltrans spokesperson Nathan Bass told the Daily Breeze that rain alone wouldn't stop the work. Some conditions will cause short pauses, though:
"Temporary stoppages could be triggered by high windspeed, reduced visibility, and other storm conditions that render the worksite unsafe to workers and for the operation of heavy equipment, such as the gantry crane that will be used for this project."
Bass said the March 2028 reopening already allows for brief storm pauses. Sophie Gilchrist, a spokesperson for the 15th Council District, told the same paper the office is "particularly mindful of how a major storm could create additional challenges along detour routes and on streets throughout our communities." Clean 15 crews are clearing curbs and gutters before the rains, and sandbags are available.
Even with the bridge open, you'd have to drive across the harbor to get to Long Beach. For San Pedro's own waterfront, the walk from Sixth and Harbor is the same as it was last month. Most of the new programming for this fall and winter is clustered right there.
West Harbor is at 1332 S. Harbor Blvd., just south of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. Already open there are the San Pedro Fish Market, Starbucks, Harbor Breeze Cruises, Wheel Fun Rentals and tall ship sails with the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, along with the promenade and a main parking lot. The Well Harbor series of yoga, strength and mindfulness classes continues at Berth 77 Park, according to the Daily Breeze's Oct. 13 report.
Here's the calendar from this week through the end of the closure:
More businesses are on the way, but none has an opening date yet. On Oct. 13, West Harbor announced three signed leases. Wagbar is a 21,000-plus-square-foot off-leash dog park and social bar serving beer, wine, cider and coffee. Tierra Azul Baja Coastal Grill & Bar will serve Baja-inspired food with a tequila-focused bar. SnoSwell is a shave ice shop that describes itself as rooted in San Pedro. At the south end of the waterfront, Sirens Java & Tea owner Yolanda Regalado has broken ground on Sirens by the Sea at AltaSea. San Pedro Today reported in late August that it was expected to open by the end of the year.
Some bigger pieces are further out. West Harbor's next openings include the 175-foot SkyStar observation wheel and a 6,200-seat amphitheater facing the harbor at the south end of the site. At the end of August, the Port also pledged $4 million toward the Pacific Battleship Center's proposed Freedom of the Seas Park and Pavilion next to the Battleship USS IOWA. That's still a planned project, not something you can visit.
Caltrans picked one long full closure over years of partial closures, citing safety, efficiency and cost. It has committed to reopening the bridge before the 2028 Olympic Games. The Olympic sailing events will be held at the Port of Los Angeles, and West Harbor plans to host and sponsor activities during the Games along its nearly mile-long waterfront. So the new deck and San Pedro's biggest waterfront event are working toward the same summer.
The new deck isn't meant to be the last word on the crossing. Ships keep getting bigger, and the clearance under the Vincent Thomas Bridge is no longer enough for the newest ones. The Port, the city and Caltrans are studying whether a whole new bridge is needed. The Daily Breeze reported that Port Executive Director Gene Seroka has suggested a replacement could be built parallel to the current bridge, which would stay open, and finished perhaps 10 years from now. The idea is still in the research phase.
Caltrans's public information officers, Diana Jimenez and Nathan Bass, answer questions at [email protected].
If you're thinking about what the next 16 months mean for your own street or your home's value, Selling San Pedro has been watching this harbor since long before the deck needed replacing. Gary Krill Jr. is happy to talk it through, by phone or over coffee on the San Pedro side.
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