A dramatic $1.5 billion plan to raise the deck of the Vincent Thomas Bridge about 26 feet higher over the water to accommodate the world’s largest — and cleanest — container ships is on a fast-track by Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

Seroka, who is in Washington, D.C., this week, is hoping to combine the effort with the upcoming Caltrans project to replace the roadway on the 64-year-old bridge. It would extend that bridge closure, scheduled now to begin in fall 2026, from one to likely two years if approved, he said in a Tuesday, July 15, interview.

Caltrans, which is undertaking the deck replacement, would need to sign off. The state transportation agency is aware of the proposal, Seroka said. Caltrans could not immeditately be reached on Tuesday.

Seroka acknowledged adding the bridge lift could potentially push back that start schedule as well, though his goal would be to avoid a delay.

But the project would also be costly — estimated at $1. billion. That’s likely on top of the $706 million for the deck replacement.

The bridge hoist — which would be accomplished by putting sleeve lifts and platforms on the bridge’s four legs, a technology that Seroka said has been used on bridges before — would make room for the largest and cleanest container ships in the world. It would also extend the bridge’s working life for up to 75 years, Seroka said, and allow a flood of new container ship business to reach terminals located in the far reaches of the port.

Seroka has already begun seeking support for the idea.

“This is a state asset,” Seroka said, adding that he had conversations with state officials and the governor this week to make sure nothing is missed and that he believes the project is doable.

It would raise the bridge air draft over the water from about 185 feet to 211 feet — about 7 feet higher than the Long Beach International Bridge — to accommodate the largest ships that would call on the port, Seroka said.

A similar adjustment was made to the Bayonne Bridge between Staten Island, New York, and Bayonne, New Jersey, with the structure kept but the bridge deck raised.

As for the experience of drivers traveling over the bridge, Seroka said, it would not be much of a change — a rise from about a 6% to 7% grade. And the bridge’s current 4 lanes of traffic, two each way, would remain the same.

It would be “a little bit steeper,” Seroka said, but “100% safe.”

And it would not alter the appearance of the iconic green, four-lane span that is about a mile long and takes motorists — including much of the Port of L.A. and Port of Long Beach traffic, such as truckers and dockworkers — from San Pedro to Terminal Island. It was the first welded suspension bridge built in the United States and opened in November 1963.

Essentially, the process would put extensions on the four legs then put the deck back down on the taller legs.

The process is often used on port cranes to accommodate the larger ships that typically now come into the port, helping them extend their reach upward and outward to unload and load cargo.

This way, Seroka said, the bridge will be able to “handle the biggest ships in the world for generations to come” and provide a major investment for those terminals that now sit behind the bridge and for the longshore workforce to continue to grow.

It would also mean the port would be able to handle the cleanest ships being made, which “will get us to zero-emissions,” Seroka said. Many of those vessels have duel tanks with renewable fuels, are taller and carry much more cargo.

“These are pretty exciting times,” Seroka said. “The concept makes sense.”

But the task is no small one to tackle, Seroka acknowledged.

“I’ll be in Washington (Wednesday) knocking on every door,” he said, adding that port funds, pending harbor commission approvals, will also be sought along with state and private funding.

The process will also involve state engineering construction firms and likely extensive reviews. So far, he said, no pitfalls have turned up in the research he has conducted.

While it’s unknown what obstacles may lie ahead, Seroka said stakeholder groups will be part of the process — and there will be community discussions.

Some of the preliminaries have been quietly aired in closed-door discussions with some community groups in town. The idea of building a new bridge came up in some of those earlier discussions, but the availability of future federal funding was questionable and the costs likely would be much higher at this point.

The Long Beach International Bridge wound up costing $1.46 billion when it opened in 2020. But it was expected to cost $950 million when first approved in 2010.

Bruce Heyman, an engineer and executive director of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, has been in those discussion sessions about the Vincent Thomas Bridge and supports the idea of the taller bridge, though would like it if it were at all feasible to add some motor vehicle capacity as part of a future plan as well.

Heyman also said he thinks there may be some engineering issues yet to be worked out in a plan to raise the Vincent Thomas Bridge’s height, noting that some areas have explored double-decking or additional outside lanes as a way to increase vehicle traffic capacity for some bridges able to accommodate those designs.

“I look at the George Washington or Richmond (double-decked) bridges as a solution,” he said.

“I’m fascinated,” Heyman said of Seroka’s bridge-raising plan, “but I have a million questions.”

He said he “fully supports” Seroka in the drive to grow port capacity by raising the bridge if that is feasible, but he also noted ship size and water traffic will only grow in the future. It’s much needed, Heyman said.

But the port’s vehicular movement, Heyman said, also needs to be addressed at some point as well.

“I’m not a traffic engineer,” he said, “but it also seems to me that if we’re going to spend the time and effort to increase (ship) capacity, how many times has one lane (on that bridge) been closed and it’s backed up for hours?”