Alameda Corridor authority to mark grade separation's start in L.A. area

The Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority (ACE) plans to hold a ceremony today to mark the start of construction on a $99.6 million grade separation in Industry, Calif.

A four-lane roadway underpass will be built on Puente Avenue and a railroad bridge will be constructed to carry Union Pacific Railroad trains over Puente Avenue and Workman Mill Road. To be completed in early 2018, the project will enable local officials to close a grade crossing, eliminating train/vehicle collisions, traffic congestion and train-horn noise in the area, ACE officials said in a ceremony announcement.

Located on the high-volume transcontinental Alameda Corridor-East rail corridor, Puente Avenue has registered five collisions over the past 10 years, causing three fatalities and one motorist injury, they said. By 2025, daily rail traffic at the crossing is projected to more than double from 20 to 42 trains.

"Without the project, crossing delays will more than double by 2025 or will more than triple if the railroad mainline is double tracked," ACE officials said.

Dignitaries invited to the ceremony include U.S. Reps. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.); State Sens. Ed Hernandez and Norma Torres; Assembly members Ed Chau, Freddie Rodriguez and Roger Hernandez; California Transportation Commissioner Fran Inman; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Executive Officer Art Leahy; and Industry Mayor Tim Spohn.

The project is part of an ACE program involving the construction of 21 grade separations in the San Gabriel Valley along freight-rail mainlines used to move goods to and from San Pedro Bay ports.