Construction is under way on a $22 million roadway project in Wilmington aimed at improving traffic heading to and from the Port of Los Angeles. It will create more than 250 jobs.
ATVN's Heather Hope talks to Councilwoman Janice Hahn about the port project.
The project, set for completion in January 2012, will make a variety of improvements along a 1.3-mile stretch of Harry Bridges Boulevard between Lakme Avenue and Figueroa Street.
The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is the largest single federal stimulus grant awarded to so-called shovel-ready projects in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, port officials said.
“This project will improve public safety and keep America’s freight moving,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during a groundbreaking ceremony. “We look forward to additional stimulus funds being granted to our city.”
Harry Bridges Boulevard connects John S. Gibson Boulevard and Alameda Street, and it is the main route traveled by truckers from San Pedro and Wilmington to the Terminal Island (47) Freeway.
The construction project will include concrete walks, gutters, driveways, traffic signals, street lighting, storm drainage, landscaping, irrigation and grading work that will allow for future widening of the street.
“This is the kind of teamwork and commitment we must continue to have as we move forward to secure more federal dollars for port infrastructure projects,” said Cindy Miscikowski, president of the city Harbor Commission.
