Port of Los Angeles breaks ground on US$137-million railyard that will increase on-dock rail efficiency, reduce congestion and improve environment.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Port of Los Angeles officials broke ground on a new intermodal storage railyard that will improve a vital link in the national freight network. The new yard will function as a critical link between the Port of Los Angeles and the Alameda Corridor, providing staging and storage for trains using the corridor.
Construction of the $137.7 million rail project at Berth 200, also known as the West Basin Railyard, will generate about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs. When completed, the new yard will move cargo more safely and efficiently, reduce truck traffic on roads and freeways and improve regional air quality while strengthening the Port of Los Angeles’ position as the nation’s No. 1 trade gateway.
The Berth 200 railyard project also enables track space at the TraPac container terminal to serve as TraPac’s future on-dock rail facility. With completion of the $365 million in rail, roadway and terminal improvements at TraPac over the next three years, TraPac will join the other seven container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles that offer shippers the speed-to-market advantage of on-dock rail.
“This project creates jobs, reduces pollution and makes our city a better place to live, work and do business,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “The economic and environmental benefits of this investment will be felt across the nation.”
The project will be built in two phases. Phase I includes construction of the new yard, support tracks for the TraPac and China Shipping/West Basin Container terminals, double-track connections to the Alameda Corridor and national rail network, and access road improvements. Phase II is due to begin construction later in 2013 and includes final rail network connections and vehicle overpasses to eliminate at-grade crossings for safer, more efficient flow of truck and commuter traffic. Both phases are due to be completed in summer 2014.