California Construction News staff writer
The City of Long Beach has been awarded a $30 million federal grant to realign Shoreline Drive and add acres of usable green space to Cesar Chavez Park-
The grant is part of the new Reconnecting Communities Pilot program.
“This is an enormous opportunity to reconnect and create new green space while building a new gateway into Downtown and West Long Beach. As Mayor of Long Beach, we advocated to our federal partners for this funding, so it’s great to be able to deliver for the city now as a Congressman,” Congressman Robert Garcia said in a statement announcing the funding.
The Shoreline Drive Gateway project will reconfigure West Shoreline Drive to remove a roadway barrier and improve access and connectivity between Downtown Long Beach and public open space; create a new bicycle path and pedestrian amenities; and divert highway traffic from residential streets to major arterials.
The project will cost $60 million, and the $30 million grant will
The $30 million grant will fund the first of two parts of the development, including:
- demolition of the existing northbound lane of Shoreline Drive;
- relocation of major utilities;
- required temporary traffic control and rerouting;
- major civil engineering and required regrading;
- removal of old fences, hardscaping, and landscaping;
- installation of new fiber, irrigation and power conduits;
- relocation of street lighting to accommodate new street and park alignment;
- partial funding for the realigned roadway and new medians at Shoreline Drive.
The second part, expected to cost an additional $30 million will complete the project with additional roadway work, new traffic signals, landscaping, and medians. The city is looking to obtain additional federal and state support to complete this public development.
“The new funding is the first step to rebuilding primary entry points to our Downtown for the benefit of residents and visitors,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “This transformative project will help us make our local streets safer, effectively double the size of Cesar Chavez Park with new usable park space for children and families and create hundreds of new construction-related jobs.”
