"We're all bracing for two months of chaos until people develop their regular traffic patterns," Elise Swanson, CEO and president of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Breeze this month.
Her two months start on a Saturday. At 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 7, Caltrans closes the green suspension bridge for about 16 months. Later that same morning, a free tour and community ringing begins at the Korean Bell of Friendship on Gaffey Street. That gives a fair preview of the next year and a half. Getting east takes longer, and a growing list of things to do doesn't require crossing anything at all.
A date that moved once, and a reopening with two versions
If you saved the date as Nov. 1, update your calendar. On Sept. 25, Caltrans moved the full closure back six days to allow for final coordination with the contractor, the Skanska-CEC Joint Venture. The agency said the delay doesn't change the construction schedule and that the bridge is still targeted to reopen in early March 2028. The Daily Breeze's Oct. 16 coverage gives February 2028 and says the goal is to finish before the L.A. Summer Olympics. We use Caltrans's early-March target here.
This isn't a patch job. Caltrans says the bridge is structurally sound, but the concrete deck has worn out from more than 60 years of heavy traffic and salt air. The $750 million project replaces the roadway, updates the safety features, and installs new seismic sensors. For comparison, the bridge cost $21 million when it opened to traffic on Nov. 15, 1963.
The way around, street by street
The official detour between San Pedro and Terminal Island, as the Los Angeles Times reported on Oct. 16, follows this sequence:
- Front Street and John S. Gibson Boulevard on the San Pedro side
- Harry Bridges Boulevard and Henry Ford Avenue through Wilmington
- The state highway system, including Interstate 110 and Interstate 710
Caltrans's FAQ also names the two bridges that will carry the load into Terminal Island: the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge on SR-47 from the north and the Gerald Desmond Bridge on I-710 from the east. The same Times article reports that Caltrans acknowledged drivers will take "the path of least resistance" no matter what the signs say, and that people at the agency's open houses kept asking about traffic on streets that aren't on the official route.
Trucks are a smaller part of the bridge's traffic than many people would guess. The Port of Los Angeles says 8% of drayage truck traffic in the port complex uses the Vincent Thomas, and it expects the local detours may add some extra time for those drivers. The Daily Breeze calls the bridge a key connector for commuter traffic between San Pedro and Long Beach. According to the same report, Councilmember Tim McOsker first warned of a "harborgeddon" and then pushed for detour repairs, signage, and wide public outreach.
Some workarounds people have suggested are off the table. Caltrans's project FAQ says a temporary ferry between San Pedro and Terminal Island isn't feasible. The reasons it gives are vessel conflicts in the Main Channel, the need for landing facilities, the difficulty of procuring boats and operators, and parking for riders. The FAQ also says the deck has no room for a bike or pedestrian lane. Caltrans says it is still talking with Metro and other operators about adding public transportation, but it hasn't announced a route or schedule.
What's planned for the first weeks
Caltrans's Fall/Winter 2026-27 fact sheet lists road work already underway on the detour routes, along with the steps it plans to take once the bridge closes:
- Resurfaced and restriped roads and intersections along the detour routes
- New traffic cameras and temporary traffic signals
- Traffic control officers at 18 key intersections during the closure, deployed as needed, to direct traffic by hand
- Expanded commercial truck enforcement by local police
- Closure updates through Caltrans's QuickMap traffic app
The Daily Breeze reports that Waze is also updating its routing for the closure. For the first few weeks, look up the route before you leave, especially if your phone still sends you straight to the on-ramp. The paper describes the first time a driver forgets the bridge is closed as an "unpleasant reality check."
Local businesses are getting ready too. James Brown, who owns San Pedro Brewing Company and Port Town Brewing Co., told the Daily Breeze that four or five of his employees live in Long Beach and are uneasy about the commute. He also said some of his customers are dockworkers who use the bridge to get to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. He summed up the next year bluntly: "we'll have to suck it up for at least a year."
The last Thursday with a bridge
The final weeknight before the closure is busy downtown. On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Downtown San Pedro Night Market, which its listing credits to Harbor Nights, runs from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 300 W. 6th St. The First Thursday ArtWalk starts at 7 p.m. and goes until 11. It's organized by the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District, and this month's listing places it at JDC Records, 447 W. 6th St.
Walk from one to the other and you'll pass the newest public art downtown. At Sixth and Mesa, two crosswalks now carry Lua Kobayashi's tuna-themed "Furusato" designs, a tribute to San Pedro's fishing history. The Arts District led the project with a $39,000 grant from the Port of Los Angeles and the Arts United Coalition, and the crosswalks were unveiled on Sept. 3, according to the Daily Breeze.
Sixth Street will also look a little different from last year. Senfuku Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar served its last dinner on Sept. 16 after owners Helen and Yoshimitsu "Chef Yoshi" Kikuchi retired. ABC7 put the restaurant's run downtown at 45 years. San Pedro Today reports that a local restaurant plans to take over the space.
Saturday, Nov. 7, hour by hour
The first day of the closure looks like this:
| Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 12:01 a.m. | Full bridge closure begins | Vincent Thomas Bridge, SR-47 |
| 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. | Free Korean Friendship Bell tour and community ringing | 3600 S. Gaffey St. |
| 12:30 to 2 p.m. | Tidepool walk | Cabrillo Marine Aquarium |
The bell ringing takes place on the first Saturday of every month through Dec. 5, so if Nov. 7 doesn't work, you have one more chance this year. If you haven't been to the aquarium since spring, plan extra time after the tidepool walk. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium reopened its main exhibit hall in April after an $8 million renovation. The work included a new life-support system, the Jelly Lab, refreshed exhibit and welcome halls, and a new Collections Room.
Through December, without crossing anything
The closure lasts 16 months, but the next six weeks already have plenty on the San Pedro side:
- Nov. 14, 9 to 10:30 a.m. The aquarium's education team leads a free native-garden restoration.
- Dec. 5 The year's last first-Saturday ringing at the Korean Bell.
- Dec. 9, 5 to 7:30 p.m. Grand Vision and the San Pedro Chamber host a lobby preview at the Warner Grand Theatre. Random Lengths News notes some work may still be unfinished and access may be limited.
- Dec. 11 to 13 The San Pedro City Ballet performs "Nutcracker" at the Warner Grand, and a screening of "It's a Wonderful Life" is also planned before Christmas. The Daily Breeze calls this a limited return, and a full programming calendar will take longer.
The Warner Grand's December dates come about five weeks into the closure, well inside the two months Swanson expects to be the roughest. For those nights, both the theater and the drive home are on the San Pedro side of the Main Channel.
If you're weighing how 16 months of detours could affect a sale, a purchase, or a rental you own in San Pedro, call or email Cindy and Tiffany at Kawata Team. We've lived on this side of the Main Channel for decades, and we'll walk you through what the closure means for your plans.
