Projects generated more than 5,000 jobs in 2012, Long Beach port says

Modernization projects at the Port of Long Beach, Calif., created 5,166 new construction-related jobs in the region last year, according to the port.

In 2012, the port awarded a $650 million design-build contract to replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge, major contracts for the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program, and other contracts for environmental work, security upgrades, shore power installations for terminals and various infrastructure projects.

Construction-related job figures were calculated by examining each project to determine how many direct jobs were created, port officials said in a press release. Estimates then are made of the spin-off jobs associated with the work and those resulting from construction and support industry workers spending their wages in the area.

In 2011 and 2010, construction contracts generated 2,985 and 880 new jobs, respectively, the port determined.

The port is in the midst of a 10-year, $4.5 billion capital improvement program. On March 26, the port broke ground on the $83.5 million Green Port Gateway project, which calls for building six miles of new track, realigning tracks near Ocean Boulevard and creating a new Pier F rail support yard that will support the future Middle Harbor terminal.