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After five years of construction, the $2.4 billion, 20-mile Alameda Corridor is nearing completion. Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA), a joint powers agency formed by the cities and ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, plans to begin operations April 15.
But first, the agency wants to celebrate.
ACTA plans to hold a grand-opening ceremony April 12 at 10 a.m. (PST) at the project site in Los Angeles.
Contractors are completing various rail connections and putting the finishing touches on spurs to be ready for the April 15 start up, says Phil Hampton, an ACTA spokesman with Adler Public Affairs.
When complete, rail-cargo expressway will link the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. Alameda Corridor includes a series of bridges, underpasses, overpasses and street improvements designed to separate freight trains from street traffic and passenger trains. The project's centerpiece is the Mid-Corridor Trench, which will enable freight trains to run in a 10-mile long, 33-foot deep and 50-foot wide open trench between State Route 91 in Carson, Calif., and 25th Street in Los Angeles.
Alameda Corridor also will enable railroads to increase train speeds from 10-to-20 mph, to 30-to 40-mph. ACTA officials believe the corridor, too, will increase daily freight-train trips to and from the ports from between 20 and 35 to more than 100.
— Jeff Stagl