The Commodore Schuyler F. Heim drawbridge prior to its New Year's Day 1948 opening

Photograph of the Commodore Schuyler F Heim drawbridge prior to its New Year's Day 1948 opening. 'Gigantic portals of steel, rising over 200 feet into the air, mark the center of the Terminal Island Freeway Bridge across Cerritos Channel, near Los Angeles, California. The new span, which connects the Terminal Island Naval Base with the mainland, was erected by the American Bridge Company, under contract through its sister subsidiary, Columbia Steel Company. Both are subsidiaries of the United States Steel Corporation. To the far side of the new span, almost squatting in the water, can be seen the old bridge which has sunk four feet, jamming its lifting apparature so that ships are blocked from using this portion of the channel. Until this old bridge is raised and its workings restored, the channel will remain blocked. The new span will be ready for traffic by New Year's Day.;To allow the biggest of ocean vessels to clear the bridge, the 800-ton center span between the towers can be raised as high as 125 feet by the push of a button. The principal of this operation is four big wheels or sheaves -- one to each corner atop the towers operated by electrical motors. Each of these sheaves is grooved to handle 14 cables. In each tower a 400-ton concrete counterbalance has been placed. The wights will counterbalance the 800-ton center span. According to American Bridge Company engineers, there will be only about one ton weight strain for the motors to carry when the center span is being lifted due to precision counterbalancing of the project.;Distributed by Department of Public Relations, Columbia Steel Company, Russ Bldg., San Francisco, Calif. / 11-19-47' -- typed note attached to verso. Verso dated, 'November 22, 1947'. Columbia Steel Company's stamp on verso.;Streetscape. Horizontal photography.Long Beach; Los Angeles, California; Commodore Schuyler F Heim DrawbridgeLos Angeles -- City -- Bridges And Viaducts. (Photo by Los Angeles Examiner/USC Libraries/Corbis via Gett