A new bridge may be coming for San Pedro and the Port of L.A.

A new, “re-imagined” bridge that would replace San Pedro’s iconic Vincent Thomas Bridge could become a reality in about a decade, port officials announced on Thursday, July 30, as state, city and port representatives gathered to sign a memorandum of understanding to kick off what is guaranteed to be a long — and costly — process.

While some kind of bridge “modification” could also be under consideration, most of the remarks on board the Battleship Iowa on Thursday afternoon were geared toward a new bridge. Research, community discussions and identifying funding will all come next.

Calling it a “momentous day,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said a change is needed as the port — a harbor created long ago with mudflats and oxcarts — is now the busiest in the western hemisphere and needs to keep pace. The port saw 10 million shipping containers move through in 2025. It was the third time that number has been reached, and the port now simply needs better and more updated access for the larger, cleaner container ships already arriving on the scene.

State and city officials have signed the MOU, but that will just be the start of the research to build a new bridge to replace the Vincent Thomas, which spans about a mile from San Pedro to Terminal Island to the east.

It is heavily traveled daily by port workers and others who rely on the span to get to work and for quicker access to the neighboring city of Long Beach.

The bridge already is set to temporarily close in November for a 16-month project to replace its aging roadway.

But while needed, that won’t solve the much-larger problem that’s looming.

The iconic 1960s, four-lane span is fast aging out as the twin ports of L.A. and Long Beach grow and the shipping industry requires taller clearance.

The change could be painful, however, as the bridge — seen in many movies and television shows — also holds deep sentimental attachment in the San Pedro community.

Seroka suggested the entire process — with the Vincent Thomas remaining open and functioning during construction of a new bridge — could be completed perhaps 10 years from now.

The port has set aside $5 million, Seroka said –but much more will be needed.

Long Beach got an earlier jump on its similar dilemma, replacing the smaller, aging Gerald Desmond Bridge with the Long Beach International Bridge that opened in 2020.

That wound up costing $1.46 billion. It was expected to cost $950 million when first approved in 2010.

Some 40% of the Port of L.A.’s terminals now lie behind — or to the north — of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, creating a growing problem to get larger container ships in and out.

The MOU, meanwhile, will usher in a process that officials promised would include public input and participation.

Taking part in the Thursday event were California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Caltrans District 7 Director Gloria Roberts, and Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker.

An earlier idea floated by Seroka to raise the existing bridge “just didn’t work out right,” Seroka said Thursday.

Hopes that raising the Vincent Thomas Bridge could be done simultaneously with a planned deck replacement project that’s about to begin were nixed by Caltrans.

“The timing just didn’t work out,” Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, said about that proposal in November.

It also would have cost an estimated $1.5 billion to raise the bridge about 26 feet higher over the water to accommodate the world’s largest ships.

And that would leave the bridge with only four lanes.

Seroka suggested on Thursday that a future new bridge could include six lanes, along with shoulder lanes on both sides.

He said he was heading for New York later this week and discussions would begin promptly on funding and planning in talks with architects and others.

Construction of a new bridge, he said, could begin as early as March 2028, after Caltrans reopens the bridge following the road replacement work.