UP diversion route completed near Cal Poly Pomona

Federal government and California Polytechnic University Pomona officials will gather Thursday to mark the start of a new freight-rail diversion route that will end blocked crossings, collisions and train noise on a campus gateway.

Located on the transcontinental Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) Trade Corridor, the Union Pacific Railroad route is used daily by 20 freight trains and is projected to increase to 42 trains by 2025.

The $94.8 million cost of the 2.3-mile diversion route was funded from federal (52 percent), local (40 percent), UP (7 percent) and state (1 percent) resources, according to a press release issued by the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.

The two crossings involved are located at Pomona Boulevard and at Temple Avenue, the busiest street in the city of Pomona with 33,800 daily vehicles and a gateway to the campus for 27,000 students and employees.

Over the past 10 years, two train-vehicle collisions have occurred at the Temple Avenue crossing.