This is a package of hand-modeled recreations of the major bridges in and around the area of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, replacing the native photogrammetry which is both rather ugly and out of date. These bridges carry major arterial routes, railroad lines, and freeways over various shipping channels and the Los Angeles River.
This addon is meant as a companion/supplement to FreakyD's excellent San Pedro Bay Port Facilities package, also available on flightsim.to; previously his package included renditions of the Vincent Thomas and Gerald Desmond bridges, but he's graciously made our two scenery packages compatible by removing his older bridge models in favor of mine (as of the version 3.0 update). That package is not required for this one to show up correctly, but his excellent modeling work on the ships, cranes, and other port objects and landmarks is a real boost to this area (and to several other container ports that he's made similar packages for); I cannot recommend them enough.
Crossings Included
- Long Beach International Gateway Bridge (new cable-stayed bridge completed in 2020; replaced the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge)
- Vincent Thomas Bridge (suspension bridge featured in many movies and TV shows)
- Queensway Twin Bridges (connects Downtown Long Beach with the Queen Mary ship)
- Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge (new concrete bridge replaced old lift bridge, also completed in 2020)
- Henry Ford Bridge (rail lift bridge adjacent to Heim Bridge) and connected rail viaduct
- Shoemaker Bridge
- Ocean Dr. Bridge
- Anaheim St. Bridge
- Various attached approach ramps and interchanges, pipeways
I'm hoping to continue to update this package in the future to add more of the outlying area bridges, perhaps taking the coverage as far north as the 405 freeway.
Features
- Detailed hand-modeled recreations of the above-listed bridges, with accurate road striping and lighting.
- PBR materials used for most non-painted surfaces.
- LOD models tuned to balance appearance and performance.
- Special custom decorative lighting for Queensway and Vincent Thomas Bridge
- User-selectable decorative lighting for the Long Beach International Gateway (see below)
- Collision meshes included for at least the main spans of most roadway bridges (note that MSFS is limited to a certain mesh size for collision boxes, so some simplification/exclusion was necessary)
- POI/Landmark markers
- Some terraforming and vegetation tweaks around the bridge ends, and some water corrections as necessary. Please note that if you have photogrammetry turned on, there is some unavoidable weirdness at the bridge ends where the terrain might not fully conform to the placed terraforming polygons.
Compatible (and potentially visible in screenshots)
Long Beach Airport by FreakyD
San Pedro Bay Port Facilities by FreakyD (3.0 and later)
Other addons may also be compatible, but I haven't checked them.
Known Issues/Limitations
- The native photogrammetry predates the construction of some bridges in this package, so the ground image doesn't match. Ground imagery cannot be updated for photogrammetry areas.
- No traffic on LB International Gateway bridge; some minor traffic weirdness on the Vincent Thomas Bridge due to a slight misalignment of the road traffic data with the ground imagery.
Installation
- Download the ZIP file and extract the "whitearcades-longbeachbridges" folder to your Community folder:
For the Microsoft Store version: C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_\LocalCache\Packages\Community
For the Steam version: C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community
Remember to delete all previous versions of the above-listed bridges that may already be in your Community folder. Package takes up approximately 160 MB installed.
If you want to add one of the optional bridge pier lighting packages for the Long Beach International Gateway, copy its associated folder from "Bridge Lighting Packages" to your Community folder (see included screenshots). These schemes are loosely based on actual lighting schemes used by the Port Of Long Beach to illuminate the International Gateway bridge seasonally:
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-default" - default Port of Long Beach colors (teal, blue, white)
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-patriotic" - red, white, blue
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-pride" - pride month colors
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-christmas" - red and green
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-hanukkah" - white and dark blue
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-stpats" - green and gold
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-blackhistory" - red, green, dark gray
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-lakers" - purple and gold (LA Lakers colors)
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-dodgers" - white and blue (LA Dodgers colors)
"whitearcades-lbgatewaylights-rams" - blue and gold (LA Rams colors)
Preview screenshots of each scheme are also included in the folder. If there is demand, I may add more bridge color schemes in the future by request.
How To Donate
If you enjoy this addon or my other scenery addons, please consider using the PayPal link on my profile page at flightsim.to to donate. I make scenery addons for fun, not specifically looking to monetize my work, but keep in mind that putting these sceneries together requires a significant investment of time, effort, and research, and every bit helps.
Other Scenery By Me
(all available on flightsim.to)
Downtown Los Angeles Bridges
Bay Area Bridges (bundle)
Coronado Bridge (and other San Diego area bridges)
Balboa Park (San Diego) vegetation overhaul
Ambassador Bridge
Carowinds
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Knott's Berry Farm
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Cedar Point
Kings Island
Six Flags Over Texas
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Globe Life Park (new Texas Rangers ballpark)
CaptainMoonlight
BattleOverlord
TheWhiteArcades author
16 days ago
FreakyD
TheWhiteArcades author
17 days ago
dgvrnsky