GTA V Landmark's Real Life Version Rebuilt

This is a bit different from the usual GTA V related news we report on as it has no direct impact on the game itself, but we think many of you will find this bit of information interesting nonetheless.

As we all know GTA V's Los Santos is based on the real life city of Los Angeles. It shares many landmarks and tries to mimic much of LA's layout as well — so much so that people have been making "real life GTA" videos in the city for comparison.

Unfortunately one particular landmark won't be appearing in any such videos in the future, or at least not in the same way. The Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge is a triple-section vertical lift bridge crossing the port of Los Angeles at the Cerritos Channel. To allow larger ships to pass the midsection of the bridge can be elevated on vertical rails located in the two towers, which also act as support structures.

Said mid-section, which is the bridge's main characteristic, is being dismantled and replaced with a stationary element in the coming months. The bridge has stood in its current form for 68 years, and has been in need of restoration for quite a while now. Unfortunately it will never be the same without the lift function.

While it's role in the blockbuster flick Inception may be its most well known outing in popular culture, its equivalent in GTA V may be the best virtual preservation of the landmark. For all we know, future GTA games set in Los Santos will feature the new, non-lifting version of the bridge. All of this may seem insignificant to many of you, but the prospect of a video game acting as a "memoir" for an old piece of architecture and engineering is quite fascinating.

Do we have and LA locals among our readers? Have you ever seen the bridge in the flesh concrete?