The contract for the bascule bridge was placed by The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners in 1922. The bridge was designed by Joseph Baermann Strauss and fabricated by the American Bridge Company.[2]
It was formed of a pair of 110-foot (34 m) trunnion bascule leaves which formed a one span Warren through-truss. There were two 50 feet (15 m) tower spans and two 200 feet (61 m) timber approaches.[3]