Construction begins on Montebello Corridor grade separation project

San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) and Montebello, California, officials gathered earlier this week to formally break ground on the Montebello Corridor grade separation project.

The $220 million project calls for replacing a grade crossing on Montebello Boulevard, which is the second most dangerous crossing on Union Pacific Railroad's mainline tracks in Los Angeles County, SGVCOG officials said in a news release.

Part of the Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) Project, the work is the 18th grade separation undertaken by the SGVCOG.

Each day, an average of 21,700 vehicles and 49 trains pass through the crossing, including 12 Metrolink regional commuter trains. The grade separation will provide substantial safety improvements, effectively eliminating the potential for crossing collisions, SGVCOG officials said.

The Federal Railroad Administration has recorded six collisions at the crossing that resulted in three fatalities and one injury.

The Montebello Corridor project is one of the final grade separations in SGVCOG’s program involving 19 grade separations and 55 safety improvements at key crossings in the San Gabriel Valley.

The ACE Project was established in 1998 to mitigate the impacts of growth in trade transported by trains along the high-volume transcontinental ACE Trade Corridor, one of the nation's busiest freight-rail corridors.