Alameda Corridor authority to begin two grade separations in 2014

The Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority (ACE) is in the midst of its busiest implementation period, with three grade separations under construction and another five in the design phase, according to the authority's fall newsletter released last week.

ACE is managing a program that includes 22 grade separation projects in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley along a corridor used to move cargo to and from San Pedro Bay ports.

Two grade separations being designed that are slated to start construction next year: the $122.1 million Fairway Drive and $98.1 million Puente Avenue underpasses in Industry, Calif. The Fairway Drive project calls for lowering the roadway under two existing Union Pacific Railroad and Metrolink tracks, and building a four-lane underpass, retaining walls and a rail bridge with two existing tracks and potentially one future track. The Puente Avenue project involves the construction of an underpass with bridges for Valley Boulevard and UP tracks, as well as a loop connector road.

The other three grade separations under design are scheduled to start construction in 2016, according to the newsletter. The $138.2 million Fullerton Road project in Industry calls for lowering the roadway under existing UP tracks and constructing a six-lane underpass with retaining walls and rail bridges; the $76.3 million Hamilton Bouelvard underpass in Pomona involves new bridges over First Street and UP tracks; and the $67.9 million Durfee Avenue grade separation in Pico Rivera targets a new underpass beneath UP tracks with retaining walls and a rail bridge.