Port of Los Angeles, South Wilmington Grade Separation

Athalye Consulting provided civil and structural design services to the Port of Los Angeles for the South Wilmington Grade Separation project. This project delivered a new 4,100-foot-long, elevated four-lane roadway structure connecting Harry Bridges Boulevard to Pier A Street and Fries Avenue, with a new entrance to the Port’s TraPac Terminal. The bridge, built with precast and cast-in-place box girders on 7’ OD concrete columns, eliminates conflicts between vehicular and rail traffic along Fries Avenue and Avalon Boulevard.

The grade separation improves emergency response times, reduces truck queues and traffic delays, enhances pedestrian safety, and provides uninterrupted access to port terminals, local businesses, maintenance facilities, community centers, and educational institutions.

Key challenges included maintaining continuous rail operations, ensuring port and utility access, coordinating complex staging and constructability, and interfacing with adjacent park construction.

The completed bridge now provides direct access from Pier A Street to Lagoon Avenue, significantly improving mobility and safety in the South Wilmington area.

My responsibilities included: Performed structural design and independent check for mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls and prepared general plan, typical sections, plans and profiles in AutoCAD. During construction, provided support for requests for information (RFIs), contract change orders (CCOs), and incorporated field changes.