Vincent Thomas Bridge

Ahmed M. Abdel-Ghaffar, a USC professor of engineering whose pioneering work in the design and monitoring of bridges led to the development of more efficient and reliable ways to build them, has died. He was 60. Abdel-Ghaffar died April 17 at Torrance Memorial Medical Center from complications of liver disease, said his son Samy of San Francisco. As a graduate student at Caltech in the early 1970s, Abdel-Ghaffar conducted seminal research on the Vincent Thomas Bridge, which links San Pedro to Terminal Island.

It rises 35 stories above the nation's busiest port, a sea-green landmark for ships arriving in Los Angeles from around the world. By day, an average of 48,000 cars and trucks travel its four lanes; by night, its shimmering royal blue lights form a gateway to the maritime communities of San Pedro and Wilmington.

A crane on a cargo ship struck the center span of the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro on Sunday afternoon, causing minor damage and shutting down ship and vehicle traffic for two hours. Officials said the four-lane bridge, which connects San Pedro and Terminal Island, was closed for inspection about 4:45 p.m., shortly after the incident was reported.

Los Angeles port officials said Monday that a ship collided with the Vincent Thomas Bridge over the weekend because an onboard crane was left extended -- not because the bridge was too low. They said they were more concerned about the potential for problems as truck traffic on the bridge increases.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro finally got its lights Sunday -- and with them, a new dose of respect. At least that is the hope of the locals in the broad-shouldered port neighborhood who have been fighting for the last 17 years to light the third-longest suspension bridge in California. The 160 baby-blue lights, strung along the length of the 2.

Louis Dominguez imagines it this way: tens of thousands of visitors waiting at dusk throughout San Pedro, at balustrades and restaurants, atop cliffs, aboard sailboats rocking gently in the harbor. All at once, the Vincent Thomas Bridge emerges from the shadows. Tiny blue lights outline the massive cables of Southern California's longest suspension bridge. Finally, the bridge -- and San Pedro -- get the attention they are due.

In deference to a pair of peregrine falcons, the long-awaited addition of decorative lights on the Vincent Thomas Bridge will wait until next summer so that the birds can mate and nest in peace. Supporters of the lights had hoped to see the outline of the region's largest suspension bridge glimmering with small blue lights by New Year's Eve. They believe the display will help transform the little-known bridge across Los Angeles Harbor into a citywide landmark.

Efforts to protect the Bay Area's biggest bridges against a massive earthquake took a small step forward on Thursday when state officials demonstrated strong-motion monitoring devices on a new suspension bridge across the Carquinez Strait northeast of San Francisco. In the event of an earthquake, the 130 instruments would convey to state authorities an immediate assessment of the intensity of shaking along the $500-million bridge, which will carry westbound traffic from Sacramento toward San Francisco.

Gov. Gray Davis warned Thursday of a "credible" terrorist threat against major bridges in California, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, but federal officials called the threats "uncorroborated" and expressed annoyance with the governor. "He certainly didn't get in contact with us," said one senior Bush administration official, who added that the White House also was unhappy with Davis' actions.

A 37-year-old man driving the wrong way on the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro on Thursday night forced a California Highway Patrol officer from his motorcycle and collided with another vehicle before leaving his pickup truck and jumping to his death in the water. Firefighters had to use machinery to extricate a 41-year-old woman from her car after the pickup truck hit it at about 8 p.m., Los Angeles police Officer Jason Lee said. She was in serious condition at St. Mary Medical Center.