ACE partners to start grade separation in Southern California

Today, federal, state and local officials will kick off construction for a $105.5 million grade separation on Durfee Avenue in Pico Rivera, California.

The two-lane roadway underpass and rail bridge will replace a dangerous grade crossing, Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority (ACE) officials said in a groundbreaking announcement. Since 1981, the Federal Railroad Administration has recorded nine collisions at the crossing that caused four fatalities.

To be completed in 2021, the Durfee Avenue project calls for separating the roadway and tracks by constructing a roadway underpass between Beverly Road and Whittier Boulevard under a Union Pacific Railroad line, and installing retaining walls and a new rail bridge.

The project will reduce an estimated 15.3 vehicle-hours of delays each day at the crossing, which is traversed by 49 trains per day, ACE officials said. By 2025, the number of daily trains is projected to increase to 91, while the number of motor vehicles that use the crossing daily is forecast to rise from 13,600 to 14,300.

The project is part of the ongoing, multiyear ACE program, which calls for improving 39 crossings and building 19 grade separations to relieve traffic congestion, improve safety, and reduce emissions and noise. ACE partners include UP, the U.S. and California departments of transportation, California Transportation Commission and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.