Congressman Lowenthal Calls On Army Corps For Quick Repairs To Long Beach Breakwater
Congressman Lowenthal on Wednesday urged the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite repairs to a storm-damaged portion of the federal breakwater that protects the San Pedro Bay ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
In the letter to Army Corps leaders, also signed by Congresswomen Janice Hahn and Grace Napolitano, Congressman Lowenthal praised the Army Corps for their fast response in evaluating and categorizing the damage sustained by the breakwater during the storm surge from Hurricane Marie in late August.
As the letter points out, the middle section of the breakwater, which sits directly in front of the two ports, was hit especially hard by the storm surge. The powerful waves caused damage to numerous locations along the middle breakwater, including punching three large holes completely through. The holes led to further damage within the port from wave action and forced the closure of several cargo terminals during the storm surge.
"The middle portion of the breakwater is vital to the protection of the San Pedro Bay ports and must be repaired quickly," the letter to the Army Corps concludes.
The two ports combined are the busiest container port complex in the Western Hemisphere, moving roughly $850 million worth of trade across their piers and wharves every day. Over 40 percent of the nation's total import traffic and 27 percent of its total exports come through the San Pedro Bay ports.
"The Army Corps has been tremendously responsive from the very beginning of this crisis, but I wanted to make clear that the ports are a critical economic engine in the Southern California region and the breakwater is their first and major line of defense against storms," Congressman Lowenthal said. "Each day the ports are closed, even partially, puts tremendous economic strain on thousands of Southern Californians, and hundreds of thousands of Americans across the nation, who depend directly on the ports for their livelihood. I am determined to do everything I can to make sure the breakwater repairs are made as quickly as possible."