The Build-Out of San Pedro Bay: What's Being Built and When

I've been running boxes in and out of these terminals for a long time, and I can't remember a stretch where this much steel, concrete and dredge equipment was working at the same time. Rail yards doubling. Slips getting filled in. A ship channel getting deeper. And, in eight weeks, the Vincent Thomas Bridge shutting down for more than a year.

The San Pedro Bay port complex is made up of the neighboring Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and Port of Long Beach (POLB). Today I want to walk through what is being built across the complex, what each project includes, which stage it has reached and when the agencies expect it to be complete. I stuck to what the ports, Caltrans and the Army Corps have put in writing. When a number in the popular retelling did not match the primary document, I used the primary.

The build-out follows a record year for the two ports together. Long Beach handled a record 9,881,595 TEUs in 2025. A TEU is the standard industry measure equal to one 20-foot container. Los Angeles moved 10,239,318 TEUs, its third-best year. Combined, San Pedro Bay handled 20,120,913 TEUs — 58,935 more than the prior combined high of 20,061,978 in 2021.

Port of Long Beach

Pier B On-Dock Rail — $1.815 billion, complete 2032. On-dock rail allows containers to move from marine terminals directly onto trains instead of traveling by truck to a separate rail yard. The existing 12-track yard limits how many long trains can be assembled and moved through the port. The project addresses that constraint by doubling the yard from 82 acres to 171 acres and more than tripling annual capacity, from 1.5 million TEUs to as much as 4.7 million. Build-out gets the yard to 48 tracks, including five 10,000-foot receiving and departure tracks and a servicing depot for up to 30 locomotives at a time. Construction started in 2024. The Board's own FY 2027 budget lists a $1.815 billion current program budget — not the $2.2 billion figure that's been circulating — with about $1.2 billion of that still to spend.

On May 26, 2026, the Harbor Commission agenda authorized a $283,375,812 federal MEGA grant agreement for the final Rail Yard Expansion component. That component alone runs $472.3 million, with construction anticipated to start February 2029 and substantial completion by October 2032. In the meantime, the East Expansion, the locomotive facility and the Shoemaker Bridge ramp demolition are all active, and three more components are scheduled to start construction in FY 2027.

Pier G Slip Fill at ITS — $365 million, under construction, wharf complete late 2028. International Transportation Service, known as ITS, operates the Pier G terminal. A slip is the water space between two wharves. The unused south slip divides the terminal, reducing contiguous storage space and limiting how vessels can be positioned along the wharf. This project fills the unused south slip with about 2.5 million cubic yards of reused and dredged material, creating about 19 acres of new terminal land. It also connects Berths G232 and G236 into one continuous 3,400-foot wharf, the structure where ships tie up and cargo is transferred. The completed layout will allow two large ships to be worked at the same time instead of in sequence. Fill material is coming from within the Harbor District and from Lower Newport Bay and the Balboa Yacht Basin under agreements the Board signed in January and June of 2025. The wharf is scheduled for substantial completion in December 2028; the container yard behind it runs into the third quarter of FY 2029.

Pier T Redevelopment — proposed, environmental report being drafted. This one has not started, but it is the biggest project on Long Beach's drawing board. It is intended to modernize the wharf, create more usable terminal space and accommodate future container volumes and larger ships. The Notice of Preparation names Total Terminals International as the applicant. TTI proposes to grow the Pier T terminal from 382 acres to approximately 500, potentially pulling in acreage on Pier T, Pier T Echo, the Navy Mole and land north on Pier S and Pier S West. Full build-out would take capacity up to about 6.1 million TEUs a year, phased over roughly 17 years. Long Beach is leading the state environmental review, while the Army Corps is leading the federal review. The 45-day public scoping period closed on August 17, 2026. The agencies are now preparing a joint Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement, commonly shortened to EIR/EIS.

Deep Draft Navigation — scheduled to begin in 2028. The largest ships can face tide, loading and maneuvering restrictions when channels are not deep or wide enough. Long Beach and the Army Corps plan to address those navigation limits by deepening the approach channel through Queens Gate from 76 feet to 80 feet, along with channel work at Pier J South. The Port's current Projects page puts the shared project at $318.5 million, with construction scheduled to begin in 2028 and take three years. The FY 2027 budget separately carries a $218 million program line on a broader February 2026–September 2030 window.

Metro Express Terminal at Pier S — proposed and in exclusive negotiation. The concept is intended to add dedicated capacity for express vessel services at Pier S. POLB's current Projects page calls the Pier S concept the Metro Express Terminal and lists planned annual capacity of 1.8 million TEUs. On November 10, 2025, the Board approved an exclusivity agreement with Brookfield Infrastructure Group for potential development on about 105 acres at Pier S. The initial negotiation period runs through April 15, 2027, extendable in six-month increments. No lease exists yet, and the Port describes the terminal as proposed.

Port of Los Angeles

Pier 500 — proposals in hand, no partner announced. Pier 500 is intended to add new deep-water capacity sized for next-generation vessels rather than expand within an operating terminal. It would be a stand-alone 200-acre terminal with two berths and about 3,000 linear feet of new wharf at the southern tip of Terminal Island. The site includes 124 acres of submerged infrastructure that Pier 400's construction left behind. The Port issued a request for proposals, or RFP, for a pre-development partner on October 1, 2025, with proposals due January 29, 2026. On the March 26 and April 30, 2026 agendas the Board asked the City Council to authorize alternative project-delivery methods for the work. POLA has not published a partner selection. Full pre-development through build-out is expected to run about 10 years.

Yusen Terminals — 30-year permit extension approved by the Board. Large terminal improvements take years to plan and recover their cost, so operators generally need long-term control of the property before committing to them. On August 27, 2026, the Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the Fourteenth Amendment to Permit No. 692 with Yusen Terminals at Berths 212–224 — a 30-year extension running October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2056, for a total 65-year aggregate term. The current permit dates to October 27, 1990, so this is an extension, not a replacement. The amendment still needs City Council approval before it's final. YTI's terminal is 231.87 acres, POLA's third-largest by volume and the largest north of the Vincent Thomas Bridge. YTI has been on the property since 1991.

Also on the LA drawing board

Terminal Island Maritime Support Facility — Final EIR certified, opening targeted for 2029. POLA plans a dedicated 89.2-acre yard at 740 Terminal Way, in the middle of Terminal Island, for the wheeled chassis that carry shipping containers on the road. The facility would include chassis parking, maintenance and repair, container pick-up and drop-off, support buildings, and refurbishment of the vacant office at 750 Eldridge Street. Keeping these functions on Terminal Island would reduce the distance carriers travel to move empty chassis between terminals and support yards. The Harbor Commission certified the Final EIR on May 28, 2026. The Port's environmental documents describe an opening in 2029 with full build-out in 2049.

Fenix Marine Services rail expansion — five new loading tracks. The existing rail yard limits how many containers can be transferred directly from the terminal to trains. The Berths 302–305 project adds five loading tracks, a departure track and a tail track to the on-dock rail yard. The January 30, 2025 Board agenda called for a $69,973,985 construction award, including contingency, with a 730-day term. The Port's capital plan carries the work through March 2027.

LA TiL at Berths 121–131 — proposed wharf, crane and rail work. The project addresses limits in the existing wharf, crane reach and rail layout that affect how the terminal handles larger ships and moves containers inland. The joint Draft EIS/EIR covers wharf reconstruction, relocation of five existing cranes, up to ten new cranes and expansion of the West Basin on-dock rail yard. Public review closed May 11, 2026. Like Pier T, this is still an environmental-review story.

A digital project across both ports. An $8 million California GO-Biz grant is extending POLA's Universal Truck Appointment System to Long Beach terminals, and on January 6, 2026, the Los Angeles Board approved an implementation and governance agreement with the Port of Long Beach (Resolution 26-10658) to run it as one system. The goal is a single digital process through which trucking companies can schedule container pick-ups and drop-offs across San Pedro Bay, rather than working through separate terminal systems.

The one that touches every trucker: the Vincent Thomas Bridge

Not a port project, but the infrastructure story with the most direct effect on drayage, the short-distance truck movement of containers between ports and nearby facilities. After more than 60 years of heavy traffic and exposure to the marine environment, the bridge deck has deteriorated and must be replaced. Caltrans is replacing the entire deck of the Vincent Thomas Bridge on State Route 47 — a $752.8 million project, with Skanska-CEC Joint Venture as general contractor. The bridge opened in 1963. The scope covers the concrete deck, center median, railings, fencing and signage.

The key dates:

• March 23, 2026 — preparatory construction started, with westbound overnight closures between Ferry Street and Harbor Boulevard from 10:45 p.m. to 6:45 a.m. weekdays. On August 16, Caltrans began what it calls northbound SR-47 closures, affecting easterly travel toward Long Beach, on the same overnight window.
• November 1, 2026 — full bridge closure begins, scheduled to last approximately 16 months. As of Caltrans' August 13, 2026 update, no delay has been announced.
• Detour — during the westbound overnight closures, SR-47 to Route 103 to Pacific Coast Highway to Route 110. Caltrans has posted its traffic management approach and, on the July 13, 2026 POLB agenda, the Board approved a cooperative agreement with Caltrans for VTB closure traffic detour support.

The Port of Los Angeles says only 8% of port-complex drayage truck traffic uses the Vincent Thomas Bridge. All Port of Los Angeles terminals will remain open, and the Port says it expects no impact to port operations, terminal productivity, cargo flow or capacity. Local detours may add some driving time, so companies moving freight through Terminal Island should still review routes and customer communication before November 1st.

The short version

• Pier B On-Dock Rail (POLB): $1.815B; 82 → 171 acres; capacity 1.5M → 4.7M TEUs; under construction; complete 2032.
• Pier G Slip Fill / ITS (POLB): $365M announced project; ~2.5M cubic yards; 19 new acres; 3,400-ft continuous wharf; wharf complete Dec 2028.
• Pier T Redevelopment (POLB): 382 → ~500 acres; up to 6.1M TEUs; phased over ~17 years; joint EIR/EIS in preparation.
• Deep Draft Navigation (POLB/USACE): $318.5M shared project; approach channel 76 → 80 ft; construction scheduled for 2028; separate $218M budget program line.
• Metro Express Terminal / Pier S (POLB): proposed 1.8M-TEU terminal; ~105 acres in Brookfield exclusivity through April 15, 2027; no lease yet.
• Pier 500 (POLA): 200 acres; 2 berths; ~3,000-ft wharf; RFP issued Oct 2025; ~10-year timeline; no partner announced.
• YTI Fourteenth Amendment (POLA): 30-year extension through 2056; Board-approved Aug 27, 2026; pending City Council.
• Terminal Island Maritime Support Facility (POLA): 89.2-acre chassis yard; Final EIR certified May 28, 2026; opening targeted 2029.
• Fenix Pier 300 rail (POLA): five new loading tracks; $69.97M construction award Jan 2025; capital plan through March 2027.
• LA TiL Berths 121–131 (POLA): new wharf, up to 10 new cranes, on-dock rail expansion; Draft EIS/EIR review closed May 11, 2026.
• Universal Truck Appointment System (POLA/POLB): $8M GO-Biz grant; two-port implementation agreement Jan 2026.
• Vincent Thomas Bridge (Caltrans): $752.8M full deck replacement; full closure Nov 1, 2026; ~16 months.

The operator read

The near-term business issue is the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The closure will affect Terminal Island truck routes for approximately 16 months, beginning November 1. Pier B, Pier G, Deep Draft and Pier 500 are longer-term capacity projects that come online over 2028–2030 and beyond. Before that new capacity arrives, cargo owners and logistics teams need plans for the bridge closure and the additional travel time it may create.

Plan the bridge now. Watch the rest.

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