Secretary Mineta Hails Opening of Alameda Corridor As Key Intermodal Facility for Boosting Economy, Enhancing Safety, Mobility |
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Topics: Norman Y. Mineta
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Federal Highway Administration
April 12, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 12, 2002
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 9-02
LOS ANGELES-U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today hailed the opening of California's Alameda Corridor, a $2.4 billion intermodal project that will significantly enhance the flow of trade in southern California and improve mobility in the Los Angeles metro area.
Secretary Mineta was joined at the event by California Gov. Gray Davis, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, and other federal and state officials and representatives from the Los Angeles metro area. James Hankla, the chairman of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA), presided at the ceremony.
"International trade is a vital component of our nation's economy and a major segment California's economy," Secretary Mineta said. "The Alameda Corridor will help the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach accommodate the increasing trade growth in the future while helping our national economy capitalize on southern California's standing as a major trade hub of the Pacific Rim."
Secretary Mineta said that the corridor will also improve safety and enhance mobility in the Los Angeles area by concentrating rail and truck traffic within the corridor, preventing delays in auto and truck traffic.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay ports, represent the third largest port complex in the world. About one-quarter of all U.S. waterborne international trade depends on the ports to reach market.
The Alameda Corridor improves rail and highway access to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by consolidating rail service parallel to Alameda and improving Alameda Streets. The corridor runs from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles about 20 miles to downtown Los Angeles, there connecting to major transcontinental rail lines. The corridor also eliminates or minimizes 200 at-grade crossings.
The project, which was begun in 1997, cost $2.4 billion, including $1 billion raised by revenue bonds issued by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, $400 million directly from the ports, $460 provided by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and a $400 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The loan is scheduled to be repaid in 30 years.
At the north end of the corridor are three principal projects: The new Los Angeles River Bridge, dedicated in 1998, replaced a single-track bridge with a three-track structure. The Washington Boulevard & Santa Fe Avenue Grade Separation separates rail and street traffic. The Redondo Junction project elevates Amtrak and Metrolink passenger train lines over the Corridor. In the mid-corridor section, freight trains now will travel through a 10-mile, 33-foot-deep trench between SR 91 and 25th Street. East-west streets bridge this trench.
The south end of the corridor includes two major projects: The Henry Ford Avenue Grade Separation project separates automobile and train traffic while sections of Henry Ford Avenue are reconstructed. The Compton Creek/Dominguez Channel project replaces the current single-track bridge over Compton Creek with a three-track bridge and adds a second three-track bridge over Dominguez Channel.
ACTA is widening Alameda Street south of State Route 91 from four to six lanes. North of SR 91, the City of Los Angeles is installing new signals, new pavement, and left-turn pockets. A total of $1.8 million was directed to smaller corridor cities (Lynwood, Compton, Huntington Park, Southgate, Carson and Vernon) for a feasibility-design study on construction staging and traffic management.