POLA Begins Roadway Projects

SAN PEDRO — On Jan. 27, the Port of Los Angeles announced the upcoming  In the construction start on two major roadway projects on the Interstate 110 freeway and nearby surface streets in San Pedro and Wilmington.

The work is scheduled to begin in February, extending through fall 2016.  The Interstate 110 and C Street project will help separate car and truck traffic near the port.

POLA is investing $46.6 million to widen the westbound transition from the State Road 47 to the northbound Interstate 110 and reconfigure the Interstate 110 and C Street interchange. The two projects will improve key segments of the freeway as part of Southern California’s larger Regional Transportation Improvement Plan for a six-county area.

POLA’s contribution represents about half the $101 million cost of both projects. The port is the lead agency working in partnership with two sister city agencies – the Department of Water and Power and the Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering. POLA also is partnering with the California Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Two Southern California companies, C.A. Rasmussen Inc. and Griffith Co., are the prime contractors. The work is expected to generate more than 700 direct and indirect jobs in the immediate five-county region.

The SR-47 and I-110 project will widen the westbound connector to the northbound I-110 by adding a second lane that starts after the Vincent Thomas Bridge and extends beyond the John S. Gibson Boulevard off-ramp. The existing lane will remain open during construction.

Key features are:

• Two lanes for vehicles transitioning from the SR-47 to the I-110.
• Improved freeway entrance and exit ramps at John S. Gibson Boulevard.
• Improvements to John S. Gibson Boulevard.
• Sound walls varying in height from 8 to 14 feet to reduce freeway noise impacting residential neighborhoods.
• Widening the Pacific Avenue and Channel Street bridges.
• Realignment of nearby railroad tracks

The I-110 and C Street interchange will eliminate bottlenecks caused by two major intersections within about 500 feet of each other and the C Street at the I-110 entrance and exit. A new configuration of ramps and a single  signalized intersection will replace the existing layout.

Key features are:

• A new off-ramp for traffic exiting the northbound I-110 to Harry Bridges Boulevard.
• A dedicated lane for vehicles traveling north on John S. Gibson Boulevard transitioning to Harry Bridges Boulevard.
• A dedicated lane for traffic exiting the southbound I-110 and continuing south on John S. Gibson Boulevard.
• Elimination of the intersection at C and Figueroa streets, with C Street ending in a cul-de-sac west of Figueroa Street.
• Realignment of Harry Bridges and John S. Gibson boulevards.

The Channel Street Skate Park will be closed from fall 2014 to fall 2015 to protect the public from heavy construction overhead.

Construction will limit street traffic along a half-mile stretch of John S. Gibson Boulevard to one lane in each direction for about six months beginning in fall 2015. Also that year, the John S. Gibson freeway on-ramp will close for about three months.

Utility relocation work began in late 2013 to prepare for construction.