LOS ANGELES — The Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile-long freight rail expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the rail yards near downtown Los Angeles, opens April 12.
Among the more than 1,000 people expected to attend the April 12 grand opening ceremony are U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta; California Gov. Gray Davis; Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, and Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the two busiest ports in the country, handling more than $210 billion in cargo in 2001. About half of the cargo is transported by train outside of Southern California. The Alameda Corridor speeds the movement of everyday products (including electronic equipment, apparel and shoes) to destinations across the country.
The volume of containers handled by the ports doubled in the 1990s to 8 million units. It continues to increase rapidly, and the ports project more than 24 million units by 2020. The Alameda Corridor is a critical infrastructure improvement facilitating trade and economic benefits.
The Alameda Corridor was built through a partnership involving the competing ports and the two cities. The Alameda Corridor will be operated by a unique partnership involving not only the ports but also two competing railroads, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) and Union Pacific Railroad (UP).
The Alameda Corridor received a $400 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the first of its kind and a model for a new DOT funding program.
The $2.4 billion project was completed on time and on budget, and is a model for trade- and transportation-related infrastructure projects across the country.