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Yesterday, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners recommended approval of BNSF Railway Co.'s proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) intermodal facility. The Los Angeles City Council is expected to review and vote on the project in the near future.

To be built at an industrial site on outer property at the Port of Los Angeles, the $500 million SCIG is designed to be the greenest U.S. intermodal terminal, featuring wide-span electric cranes, ultra-low-emission switchers and low-emission yard equipment.

The terminal will enable containers to be loaded onto rail cars four miles from docks at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach, Calif., instead of being transported 24 miles on local roads and a freeway to downtown rail facilities. About 1.5 million more containers will move through the Alameda Corridor each year because of the SCIG, significantly reducing truck traffic congestion in the area, according to BNSF.

The Class I also has agreed to contribute up to $3 million to a joint Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach Technology Advancement Program to further the development of zero-emission goods-movement technologies.

"The commissioners' vote validates that building SCIG is the right choice for green growth in Los Angeles and will be a new environmental model for the rest of the country," said BNSF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Rose in a prepared statement.