Henry Ford Bridge

The Henry Ford Bridge, also known as the Badger Avenue Bridge, is a bridge located in Los Angeles County, Southern California. It carries the Pacific Harbor Line railroad across the Cerritos Channel to Terminal Island from San Pedro, to serve the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. It was built to accommodate operations at the Ford Long Beach Assembly plant which opened in 1930 and was closed in 1959.

Henry Ford Bridge
Henry Ford Bridge (1996 replacement bridge, slightly raised, in foreground), and the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge (background), at the Port of Los Angeles.
Coordinates33°45′58″N 118°14′25″W
CarriesPacific Harbor Line
CrossesCerritos Channel
LocaleLong Beach & Terminal Island,
Los Angeles Harbor Region,
Los Angeles County, California
Other name(s)Badger Avenue Bridge
Characteristics
Design1924–1996: bascule bridge
1996–present: vertical-lift bridge
Clearance above165 feet (50 m)
History
Opened1924
Location

The original 1924 bascule bridge was dismantled and replaced in 1996 by a vertical-lift bridge.[1]

Bascule bridge
The 1924 Henry Ford Bridge in the half-closed position as seen in 1994.
An animation of the opening and closing sequence for the 1924 Henry Ford Bridge
'Frogs' which match up the rail lines on the tower and the movable span as the bridge closes

The contract for the bascule bridge was placed by The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners in 1922. The bridge was designed by Joseph Baermann Strauss and fabricated by the American Bridge Company.[2]

It was formed of a pair of 110-foot (34 m) trunnion bascule leaves which formed a one span Warren through-truss. There were two 50 feet (15 m) tower spans and two 200 feet (61 m) timber approaches.[3]

Detail of electrical contacts

See also

References
  1. "CA-103 Commodore Schuyler F. Heim/Henry Ford Bridge". Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  2. "Port of Los Angeles Visual History Tour - Badger Avenue Bridge". Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  3. "Henry Ford Bridge". February 6, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
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