Port of LA completes on-dock rail yard expansion

The Port of Los Angeles has completed a $73 million on-dock rail expansion project on Pier 400 designed to improve cargo flow, reduce emissions and improve roadway safety at the nation’s busiest port.

Increasing use of the Pier 400 on-dock rail yard creates additional rail capacity for all port terminal operators. The yard serves as a critical link between the San Pedro Bay port complex and the Alameda Corridor, which carries about 10% of all waterborne containers entering and exiting the United States, port officials said in a press release.

“This $73 million rail project will increase cargo efficiency while reducing emissions — a cornerstone of the port’s blueprint for sustainable growth,” said Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director.

As rail demand increases, the expanded rail yard is projected to eliminate an estimated 1,200 truck trips per day by 2040. Construction of the upgraded, expanded intermodal rail storage yard near the container terminal operated by APM Terminals began in 2021.

The project added 31,000 linear feet of track with five new railroad-storage tracks, a concrete rail bridge with lighting, an asphalt access roadway, new crossovers and turnouts, and modifications to the compressed air system.

Work also included the relocation of a portion of the lead track onto port property, realignment of the track connection to the rail storage yard, modifications to Reeves Avenue and relocation of the grade crossing from Nimitz Avenue to Reeves Avenue.

Construction was completed by contractors Herzog/Stacy and Witbeck Joint Venture. The port received $21.6 million in grant funding from the California Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, which funds improving freight corridors in California. The port funded the remaining cost of nearly $51.6 million.