Oct 18, 2026 · By Phil Friedman

Vincent Thomas Bridge Closes Nov. 7 for 16 Months — Anglers, Plan Your Alternate Routes to 22nd Street Landing 🎣

Hey everyone — Phil here with a quick public service heads-up for the fishing family.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro is going fully closed starting Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. Caltrans is shutting it down for a 16-month deck replacement project. They’re targeting a reopening in early March 2028. The bridge itself is still structurally sound after more than 60 years, but the concrete deck has been wearing out from heavy traffic and the marine environment, so they’re doing a full replacement (about a $750 million job).

For a lot of us coming from the Surfside / Seal Beach / Huntington Beach side, this hits close to home. My usual run to 22nd Street Landing (and our podcast studio) is over the Long Beach side, across Terminal Island, then the Vincent Thomas into San Pedro. Plenty of other anglers do the same thing heading to the landing, the waterfront, or other spots in San Pedro.

Once the bridge is fully closed, that direct path is gone. You’ll want to plan on alternate routes:

• Take the 110 Freeway south all the way into San Pedro (it ends at Gaffey Street). From there it’s a short run to 22nd Street. This completely avoids Terminal Island and the Vincent Thomas.

• Use the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge (SR-47) from the north if you’re coming that way.

• From the Long Beach side you can still get onto Terminal Island via the Gerald Desmond / Long Beach International Gateway Bridge (I-710), then work your way around on the local detours Caltrans has set up (Front Street / John S. Gibson Boulevard area on the San Pedro side, and Harry Bridges / Henry Ford / Alameda on the Wilmington side).

Expect heavier traffic on Gaffey, Harbor Boulevard, and the 110 during the closure. Caltrans is doing some road improvements and will have traffic control in place, but it’s still going to add time — especially on weekend mornings or when the boats are loading.

Bottom line for the fishing community: start checking your routes now. Use Google Maps or Waze with live traffic, keep an eye on Caltrans QuickMap, and give yourself a little extra cushion getting to 22nd Street Landing or anywhere else in San Pedro. The bridge will be back, but for the next year and a half we all need to know the workarounds.

Safe travels, tight lines, and I’ll see you out there.

— Phil Friedman

Friedman Adventures

Check http://friedmanadventures.com for Captain’s audios, landing and boat counts, bait availability, and more.

#VincentThomasBridge #SanPedro #22ndStreetLanding #SoCalFishing #FriedmanAdventures #BridgeClosure #AlternativeRoutes #Sportfishing #SanPedroFishing #LongBeachToSanPedro #Caltrans #HarborTraffic #AnglersAlert #FishOn #SurfsideToSanPedro