Several weekend-long closures will come to Long Beach this summer to accommodate the demolition of ramps from the Shoemaker Bridge connecting the 710 Freeway to the city’s downtown.

A public meeting to explain the details will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center in Admiral Kidd Park, 2125 Santa Fe Ave.

The Port of Long Beach plans to demolish ramps between the port and the Shoemaker Bridge — which is slated to be replaced — this year as part of construction of the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility.

The work will remove the Ninth and 10th streets on- and off-ramps crossing over the 710 Freeway. The $1.8 billion Pier B rail project will help accommodate the expected growth of cargo volume while taking trucks off the road and improving the environment.

The planned Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility is the centerpiece of the Port of Long Beach’s rail capital improvement program and a key part of POLB’s “Green Port” vision. Moving cargo by on-dock rail is cleaner and more efficient, as it reduces truck traffic. No cargo trucks would visit the facility.

The facility is being built in phases and as each is completed, capacity and operations will increase. Construction began in 2024 and the entire project is expected to be complete in 2032.

A presentation by the project team on the ramp closures during the Wednesday meeting will be followed by an open house.

RSVP at polb.com/shoemaker. Requests for translation and help registering can be made through Alice Castellanos, 562-283-7720 or alice.castellanos@polb.com.

Currently, as scheduled, the ramps will be permanently closed at the end of April. The ramps are not heavily used and sufficient alternate routes are available in the area, including Willow Street, Pacific Coast Highway, Anaheim Street, Ocean Boulevard and the Queensway Bridge. Motorists will still be able to access the Shoemaker Bridge from West Seventh Street, West Third Street, West Ocean Boulevard and West Shoreline Drive, east of the Los Angeles River.

Work will require three temporary, weekend closures this summer: first, the northbound 710, then the Shoemaker Bridge and finally the southbound 710. Dates have not been set.

A fact sheet is posted on the port’s website, polb.com.