On this date in 1954, the Seal Beach city council voted to agree with a proposal to remove the Ocean Avenue bridge that crossed over Alamitos Bay from Seal Beach to the Long Beach peninsula. The removal of the bridge was crucial for plans to construct a marina in Alamitos Bay that could accommodate yachts and larger sea vessels.
Seal Beach had opposed the removal of the bridge as far back as 1938 for two reasons. First, the city’s water line came from a six inch pipe that crossed the bay on the Ocean Avenue bridge, Secondly, Seal Beach didn’t want to lose the Pacific Electric red car line that ran across the bridge.
By 1954, the Pacific Electric line’s importance to the city had diminished, and the bridge removal allowed Seal Beach to replace the old six inch water pipes with larger ones.
To sweeten the deal, Seal Beach would receive 500,000 cubic yards of material dredged from Alamitos Bay for the Marina to shore up its beach against high tides.
– Michael Dobkins
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