Schuyler F. Heim Bridge replacement (SR-47/SR-103)

[Occidental Tourist]

The eastern side of the new bridge replacing the old Schuyler Heim Lift Bridge is open and both north and southbound traffic is being routed on it while the old lift bridge is demolished and the western side of the new bridge is bult.

New signage installed for northbound traffic on the Terminal Island Freeway crossing the new bridge indicates that SR 47 exits off itself as "Exit 5"  at Henry Ford Avenue.  Exit 5 is an exit number for SR 47, as SR 103, which begins as a short concurrency with SR 47 at the Seaside Freeway interchange, begins only 1½ miles south of this point.



I'm not entirely clear about Caltrans supremacy rules when it comes to which of two concurrent non-interstate routes gets preference over signing their exit.  I'd always assumed the lower route number won out.  Having SR-47 be the signed exit rather than having the continuation of SR 103/Terminal Island Freeway be a left exit off SR 47 indicates that they are treating SR 103 as the mainline.  But obviously if they were taking the position that SR 103 exit numbers should have supremacy, then Henry Ford Ave. would be Exit 2 instead of Exit 5.

The wildly out-of-date CalNEXUS page doesn't have anything about future exit signing for SR 103 and only has a signing chart for the south end of SR 47 on the western side of the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

[andy3175]

To see a short video of the Heim bridge in lift operation, see

This video is embedded into a news article discussing the Heim bridge, at http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20150823/distinctive-heim-bridge-passing-slowly-into-history

Built from 1946 to 1948 by the U.S. Navy, the striking north-south lift-span bridge casts a steel-pillar shape over the port landscape, carrying countless trucks and automobiles between Terminal Island and the mainland where Wilmington and Long Beach meet.

Several times a day, traffic is stopped as the bridge's metal-plate roadbed rises up elevator-style to allow tugs, sailboats and other vessels to pass beneath. Painted green, the bridge's profile features two cross-braced steel towers suspended by cables.

If you haven't driven on the Heim, you've probably seen it on the big or small screen, where it makes a frequent guest appearance (think "Inception,"  "Terminator 2: Judgment Day,"  "To Live and Die in L.A.,"  "Being John Malkovich,"  "Mr. and Mrs. Smith,"  "NCIS: Los Angeles,"  "CSI,"  "Lethal Weapon"  movies, the opening segment for the 1967-75 show "Mannix"  ... the list goes on).

But, alas, the storied vertical-lift bridge that opened on Jan. 10, 1948, is, piece by piece, now being relegated to port history, deemed structurally obsolete and seismically unsafe, no longer able to handle the growing traffic demand or provide the vertical clearance needed for passing ships.

In its place, the California Department of Transportation is building a $180 million six-lane, fixed-span concrete bridge straight across and over the Cerritos Channel shipping lane. Rising nearly five stories above the water, the new bridge will provide plenty of vertical room.

The new three-quarter-mile-long bridge – expected to be finished in early 2017 – will be safer and reduce maintenance costs, according to Caltrans. It will allow traffic to move from Terminal Island directly onto Alameda Street, bypassing three stop lights and five railroad crossings, according to an article on the Port of Los Angeles website.

But it won't have the charm and character of the Heim, a landmark for locals who have grown up in the Long Beach and Harbor Area.

[andy3175]

New signage installed for northbound traffic on the Terminal Island Freeway crossing the new bridge indicates that SR 47 exits off itself as "Exit 5"  at Henry Ford Avenue.  Exit 5 is an exit number for SR 47, as SR 103, which begins as a short concurrency with SR 47 at the Seaside Freeway interchange, begins only 1½ miles south of this point.

Looking at the Port of Los Angeles webpage, which has pages for SR 47 (https://www.portoflosangeles.org/transportation/ca_47.asp) and SR 103 (https://www.portoflosangeles.org/transportation/ca_103.asp), it appears that the Heim Bridge is considered by the Port to be part of SR 103. It seems like the sign you posted should be corrected to SR 103 being a left exit 5, rather than SR 47 exiting onto itself. Who knows if that has anything to do with SR 103 having the left through lanes. Maybe this will change with the future Port Access Expressway link. I wonder how the Port Access Expressway portion of SR 47 (Phase 2), which is to continue the limited access between the Heim bridge replacement and Alameda Street, will be routed given all the development, roads, and railroads in the area. It has been "postponed indefinitely," most likely due to lack of funding for the time being. See http://www.acta.org/projects/projects_planning_SR47.asp for more on the proposed expressway component.

The project is divided into two segments. Segment 1 is the replacement of the seismically-deficient Schuyler Heim bridge with a new safer fixed bridge. Segment 1 is being administered by Caltrans and is currently under construction. Please visit the Caltrans website for details and schedule.

Segment 2 provides an expressway connection between the north side of the Heim Bridge and Alameda Street at Pacific Coast Highway and will be awarded and administered by ACTA. Segment 2 has been postponed indefinitely.

The Schuyler Heim Bridge Replacement and SR-47 Expressway Project is being advanced through a joint partnership between Caltrans and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA).  The project will replace the seismically deficient Schuyler Heim Bridge over Cerritos Channel and add a four-lane elevated roadway connection to Alameda Street that will bypass three signalized intersections and five at-grade railroad crossings.

This project will provide an alternative route from Terminal Island, a major generator of port-related truck traffic, and provide direct access to local distribution centers and warehousing facilities in the South Bay area, as well as I-405 and SR-91, thereby relieving congestion on the Harbor and Long Beach freeways.

The Schuyler Heim Bridge Replacement and SR-47 project will enhance the efficient, secure movement of goods at the nation's largest port complex, as well as reduce congestion and improve mobility.

[noelbotevera]

I noted on the CalNEXUS page is that CA 47 is a route with exit numbers, and CA 103 is not. So it could be a case that CA 47 is the mainline, and is exiting itself. This does happen with routes (such as PA 611 near Delaware Water Gap).

[emory]

I'm not entirely clear about Caltrans supremacy rules when it comes to which of two concurrent non-interstate routes gets preference over signing their exit.  I'd always assumed the lower route number won out. 

On the SR-60/57 concurrency in Diamond Bar, the road obeys SR 60's exit signs.

[andy3175]

I'm not entirely clear about Caltrans supremacy rules when it comes to which of two concurrent non-interstate routes gets preference over signing their exit.  I'd always assumed the lower route number won out. 

On the SR-60/57 concurrency in Diamond Bar, the road obeys SR 60's exit signs.

This can sometimes but not always be related to the underlying legislative route number. There are not too many instances where two state routes overlap on a freeway in California. For the 57-60 overlap example cited, there is no legislative route break for either route, so some discretion was provided in choosing the "superior" route number (perhaps average daily traffic or most likely origins/destinations?). But in other cases, such as pretty much any route that jumps onto SR 99, for example, is subservient to SR 99 (examples include SR 12, SR 59, and SR 58 - and each of these have route breaks legislatively where they interact with SR 99) with the exception of the segment of SR 99 that is almost unsigned through Sacramento where it hitches onto US 50/Business 80 and Interstate 5. Another example is SR 20 and SR 49, where SR 20 is the superior route based on its legislative designation.  I am sure there are other examples out there (such as anytime US 101 meets a state route, such as SR 1, SR 84, SR 128, SR 166, etc. where US 101 is the superior route based on legislative designation) but these are the ones that come to my mind.

[mrsman]

I'm not entirely clear about Caltrans supremacy rules when it comes to which of two concurrent non-interstate routes gets preference over signing their exit.  I'd always assumed the lower route number won out. 

On the SR-60/57 concurrency in Diamond Bar, the road obeys SR 60's exit signs.

This can sometimes but not always be related to the underlying legislative route number. There are not too many instances where two state routes overlap on a freeway in California. For the 57-60 overlap example cited, there is no legislative route break for either route, so some discretion was provided in choosing the "superior" route number (perhaps average daily traffic or most likely origins/destinations?). But in other cases, such as pretty much any route that jumps onto SR 99, for example, is subservient to SR 99 (examples include SR 12, SR 59, and SR 58 - and each of these have route breaks legislatively where they interact with SR 99) with the exception of the segment of SR 99 that is almost unsigned through Sacramento where it hitches onto US 50/Business 80 and Interstate 5. Another example is SR 20 and SR 49, where SR 20 is the superior route based on its legislative designation.  I am sure there are other examples out there (such as anytime US 101 meets a state route, such as SR 1, SR 84, SR 128, SR 166, etc. where US 101 is the superior route based on legislative designation) but these are the ones that come to my mind.

It seems that the straight routing will take precedence over a zig-zaag routing.  Of course CA 99 is the freeway through the Central Valley - those overlapping routes come on the freeway for a couple exits and then leave - there is no way that the exit numbers should follow any other highway.

57/60 is a close call, but technically the joint routing is mainly east/west, so it does seem to be 57 joining the 60 for a short while and then leaving again.  So 60 is the dominant route.

[emory]

I'm not entirely clear about Caltrans supremacy rules when it comes to which of two concurrent non-interstate routes gets preference over signing their exit.  I'd always assumed the lower route number won out. 

On the SR-60/57 concurrency in Diamond Bar, the road obeys SR 60's exit signs.

This can sometimes but not always be related to the underlying legislative route number. There are not too many instances where two state routes overlap on a freeway in California. For the 57-60 overlap example cited, there is no legislative route break for either route, so some discretion was provided in choosing the "superior" route number (perhaps average daily traffic or most likely origins/destinations?). But in other cases, such as pretty much any route that jumps onto SR 99, for example, is subservient to SR 99 (examples include SR 12, SR 59, and SR 58 - and each of these have route breaks legislatively where they interact with SR 99) with the exception of the segment of SR 99 that is almost unsigned through Sacramento where it hitches onto US 50/Business 80 and Interstate 5. Another example is SR 20 and SR 49, where SR 20 is the superior route based on its legislative designation.  I am sure there are other examples out there (such as anytime US 101 meets a state route, such as SR 1, SR 84, SR 128, SR 166, etc. where US 101 is the superior route based on legislative designation) but these are the ones that come to my mind.

For US 101, I just figured AASHTO routes supercede non-AASHTO routes. A good example is CA 60 through Riverside. I-215 leaves the Riverside Freeway at the I-215/CA 60/CA 91 interchange, and co-signs with the intersecting Moreno Valley Freeway (CA 60) eastbound for a few miles before the Escondido Freeway begins and carries I-215 southbound. For those few miles, cosigned CA 60 obeys the I-215 exit numbers, which go in the opposite direction since it's a north-south route.