Long Beach highlights $1B Elevate 2080 plan, port air-quality pact and Los Cerritos wetlands restoration

Mayor Rex Richardson used the State of the City to outline large infrastructure and environmental projects that the city says will improve air quality, streets and open space.

Richardson said Elevate 2080 will invest "more than $1,000,000,000 dollars in more than a 180 projects" across streets, parks and community facilities. He cited recent results: a pavement condition index improvement from 56 to 61, $21,000,000 of paving completed this year and more than 42,000 potholes repaired.

On air quality, the mayor announced a historic enforceable agreement between the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the South Coast Air Quality Management District to accelerate zero-emission infrastructure, reduce truck traffic through greater use of on-dock rail (he cited Pier B moving 35% of cargo by rail), and to protect frontline communities through faster 0-emission investments.

Richardson also said the city is advancing a trash-capture system at the mouth of the Los Angeles River and bringing new rules to hold upstream polluters accountable. He announced a 150-acre restoration of the Los Cerritos Wetlands to transform former oil fields into coastal open space — described as the largest expansion of open space since El Dorado Park.

Ending: The mayor framed these projects as durable infrastructure and environmental gains that will last beyond the 2028 Olympics; he tied investment in streets and clean-air measures to health outcomes for frontline neighborhoods.