a website<\/a> bearing that name that has a countdown clock and a map of suggested detours.<\/p>\nCaltrans\u2019 official detour recommends that drivers from San Pedro use the 110 Freeway to access Harry Bridges Boulevard, then take the 47 Freeway at Henry Ford Boulevard or the 710 Freeway.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s likely the route most truck drivers entering and exiting the Port of Long Beach will take, Allen said, and commute times could vary widely depending on the time of day.<\/p>\n
He currently travels from San Pedro to his downtown Long Beach office three days a week. Once the bridge closes, his 15-minute drive will likely take 30-45 minutes, Allen estimated.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the bridge closure, Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker, who represents District 15 including San Pedro and Wilmington, pushed for road improvements along the detours to prepare them for increased traffic. <\/p>\n
In Wilmington, those efforts included \u201cslurry sealing along Alameda Street and Harry Bridges Boulevard, with concrete repairs in some locations,\u201d Sophie Gilchrist, the councilmember\u2019s spokesperson, wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n
McOsker is also asking the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to monitor traffic on Anaheim Street after the bridge closes and identify short-term and long-term fixes \u201cif problems arise,\u201d Gilchrist wrote.<\/p>\n
Why is this happening now?<\/p>\n
Caltrans began forming this plan after a 2021 inspection found that the bridge deck condition had dropped from \u201cfair\u201d to \u201cpoor\u201d in part because of heavy truck traffic from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.<\/p>\n
That ultimately led to the $750 million bridge deck replacement project, which will also replace the center median, railing, fencing and install new seismic sensors and utilities on the bridge.<\/p>\n
Caltrans officials say a full bridge closure was the most palatable of several unsavory options. Plans to just close the bridge at night would have stretched construction to 48 months. A mix of weekend and overnight closures to keep one lane open ranged between 25 and 32 months.<\/p>\n
What does this mean for locals?<\/p>\n
Business owners in San Pedro are worried that lengthy detours will frustrate potential customers and lead to a dip in sales.<\/p>\n
Stephanie Crawford, who has owned Creative Pet Supply in San Pedro for the past 26 years, said construction on the 47 Freeway off-ramp just up the road from her business has already hurt.<\/p>\n
Lately, she\u2019s had \u201cquite a few\u201d customers from Long Beach asking how they\u2019ll be able to visit her store once the bridge shuts down.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been telling customers: \u201cWe\u2019ll still be open, if you can get to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1794062222_166_03nov26-bridge-094-897297-gikc8aqk-779544-idoIDXfh-1024x569.jpg\")
The Vincent Thomas Bridge will be closed for repairs for over a year, starting Saturday, Nov. 7, in San Pedro, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n
The closure might also be a headache for the historic Warner Grand Theatre in downtown San Pedro, which is just finishing up renovations of its own, albeit at an inopportune time, said Liz Schindler Johnson, executive director of the Grand Vision Foundation \u2013 a nonprofit arts organization that markets the theater\u2019s events.<\/p>\n
On average, roughly 10-15% of their audience comes from Long Beach, Schindler Johnson said. She\u2019s hoping they won\u2019t be put off by the longer drive, especially because the shows primarily take place on weekends.<\/p>\n
Two of her eight employees typically commute over the bridge to their San Pedro office and are bracing for added drive time, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to go back to remote work if we can help it,\u201d Schindler Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Allen is trying to stay positive. The longer drive, he said, will give him an excuse to catch up on audiobooks and check out a new grocery store \u2014 the Northgate Market along Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Starting Saturday, Nov. 7, the 63-year-old Vincent Thomas Bridge will shut down until at least March 2028 for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-521816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1794062221_634_02nov26-think-bridge-018-575900-1tkxx9v6-328998-P8qY2fv8-1024x717.jpg\")
The Vincent Thomas Bridge will close to traffic starting Saturday, Nov. 7 in San Pedro, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n