Port infrastructure projects open up thousands of jobs in California
Thousands of workers are needed for port-related infrastructure work in California. This year alone, there is about $3 billion worth of work. Steelworkers, painters, engineers and general construction workers are all needed.
LONG BEACH — Job opportunities are opening up as port authorities move forward on infrastructure projects totaling more than $3 billion in the coming year, including replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge and redevelopment of piers in the Middle Harbor.
Contractors expect to hire as many as 5,000 for the Long Beach projects, with neighboring Los Angeles hiring more than 2,000 for projects in San Pedro totaling $1.5 billion.
Job seekers are being directed to the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network, a city-sponsored nonprofit working with the ports and contractors on hiring, training and apprenticeship programs.
The biggest project is replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge, a $950 million, five-year project to build a taller, wider and safer span connecting downtown Long Beach to Terminal Island.
More than 4,000 workers are needed for the project, which is expected to start later this year or early 2012 and end in 2016.
Job opportunities include steelwork, engineering, painting, general construction, secretarial work, accounting and several other positions.
Another major project is the $700million Middle Harbor modernization, which will upgrade three aging piers near the mouth of the Los Angeles River west of downtown.
That job will require about 1,500 workers annually during three phases during the next decade. The city already approved a labor agreement for the first $150 million phase that includes local hiring provisions and a job-training and apprenticeship program designed to prepare local youngsters for careers in engineering, construction and infrastructure trades.
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Source: The Long Beach Press-Telegram
