The $1 billion project to replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge along the main route to the Port of Long Beach will be delayed a year according to port officials, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Port of Long Beach has no interest in merging with the neighboring Port of Los Angeles as recommended by an independent commission’s recent report, a top port official said.

Container traffic at the Southern California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fell almost 7% in February from a year ago, in part due to the Chinese New Year in late January, which led to a decline in the following two weeks’ traffic.

Volume at the neighboring Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles was mixed in June, with Long Beach’s rising slightly and Los Angeles’ declining.

The Port of Long Beach, Calif., said crews have begun demolishing the final sections of an off-ramp where the first sections of a new $1 billion bridge will be constructed.

Unions for workers at the Southern California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have approved a contract that will run through 2016.

A pair of announcements about developments at the nation’s two largest ports holds the promise of helping southern California truckers.