When crew members this spring dismantled two movable scaffolding systems—never before used in California—it marked a key milestone in the construction of the state’s first vehicular cable-stayed bridge. The $1.5-billion Gerald Desmond Bridge at the bustling Port of Long Beach is set for completion early next year. It experienced delays and budget increases due to myriad challenges, but an unusually intense design change process employed on the design-build job has kept the momentum going.
“We are complete with all the movable scaffolding. Approaches are done,” says Bob Schraeder, project manager with SFI, the design-build team of Shimmick Construction, Spain’s FCC Construction and Italy’s Salini-Impregilo S.p.A. “There is a lot of bridge out here.”