The Gerald Desmond Bridge (United States) is a finalist in the bridge category of the prestigious IABSE international awards.

The Gerald Desmond competes in the IABSE Award for Infrastructure category with:

• Pingtang Bridge, China
• The Pihe Main Canal Aqueduct, China
• Zweite Hinterrheinbrücke Reichenau, Switzerland
• The Pingnan Third Bridge, China
• Peljesac Bridge, Croatia

The Gerald Desmond Bridge, executed by FCC among other international companies, allows the passage of more than 15% of port traffic in the United States.

The project is one of the most important infrastructures for the California economy, since it connects the two areas of the Long Beach port complex, a commercial hub in the Pacific that, together with the Port of Los Angeles, constitutes the main maritime gateway between the American continent and Asia.

The work becomes the second highest cable-stayed bridge in the United States, with two towers 155 meters high, and replaces the previous structure inaugurated in 1968, which had become obsolete due to risks from new earthquakes and a height too low for the current boats.

The Long Beach authorities compared the structure with the symbolism that the Golden Gate has for San Francisco.

As California is an area of high seismic risk, the main challenge of the work was that it be resistant to new tremors, for which some 70 seismic sensors were placed to detect earthquakes and damage to the structure.

For more information about the prizes, click here