RAISE grant to fund grade separation at L.A. port

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg yesterday announced the award of a $20 million federal grant to the Port of Los Angeles for an infrastructure project designed to speed up the flow of goods by train and truck.

The project calls for the construction of a four-lane, rail-roadway grade separation, which will allow unimpeded truck access to an 80-acre marine support facility on Terminal Island, a central location serving all terminals in the San Pedro Bay port complex.

Currently, access to this facility for chassis and empty shipping container storage is impeded by several heavily used rail tracks and a tunnel with low vertical clearance, both of which will be addressed by the project, port officials said in a press release.

The project is also expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from idling vehicles.

When completed, the new rail-roadway will connect trucks directly to the highway system in two directions, resulting in a reduction of 2,500 truck-hour delays daily; a decrease of more than 3,000 metric tons of emissions per year; and a reduction of 1,200 truck miles traveled per day, which will also decrease accident potential in the area.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program.

"We're proud to be here marking such important progress being made, but also recognizing that there is so much more to do to fix the supply chains that were torn up by the pandemic and to make them more resilient for years to come — and right here, we have a great example of that," said Buttigieg.