LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Former Vice President Joe Biden will return to the Southland today in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, touring the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project in Long Beach before attending an evening fundraiser in Irvine.
The bridge project, which is expected to be completed this year, will replace the previous 1960s-era span at the Port of Long Beach with a 205-feet- high bridge designed to provide clearance for larger modern cargo ships. The original bridge is 155 feet above the water.
It will also include three traffic lanes in each direction -- up from the previous two -- along with emergency lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian path. According to port officials, the bridge is also a critical route for cargo trucks, with roughly 15% of the nation's imported water-borne cargo traveling over the span.
The nearly $1.3 billion project is estimated to have created roughly 3,000 construction jobs.
Details of the Biden for President fundraiser in Irvine were not released.
Biden was last in the Southland to attend the Dec. 19 presidential debate at Loyola Marymount University. He also visited the area in early December, attending fundraisers in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
Biden held a fundraiser Wednesday night at a Washington, D.C. law firm.
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