During construction, the project will create an estimated 1,135 jobs. “One long double-stacked train whisking cargo from the docks to the nation’s heartland eliminates about 2,000 truck trips, which in turn improves traffic and reduces emissions.” Currently, about 22% of all cargo moving in and out of the Port is handled by on-dock rail. By streamlining on-dock rail service, the new facility will reduce roadway congestion and the carbon footprint of the Port and the extended supply chain. The purpose is both operational and environmental. It will add more than 130,000 feet of rail, quadrupling the number of tracks from 12 to 48 sets: two main lines, five arrival/departure tracks, and 41 tracks throughout the yard for staging, storing and repairs.Ī modern, expanded Pier B rail facility positions the Port to achieve its longstanding goal of moving at least 35% of cargo by on-dock rail. Throughout, the work will involve reconfiguring city streets for better traffic flow and repositioning utilities.Īll told, the new facility will more than double the size of the existing yard, growing it from 82 acres to 171 acres. The entire facility is expected to be completed by 2032. They are the locomotive facility westward expansion of the existing site and realignment of Pier B Street eastward expansion of the site relocation of a Los Angeles County flood control pump station and widening the Dominguez Channel Bridge to accommodate a third track. Plans call for the project to be built in 12 segments, starting with the design, contracting and construction of the first five stages from 2023 to 2026. The Pier B On-Dock Support Rail Facility will cure multiple inefficiencies on a grand scale.” “Each time we eliminate a single bottleneck, the whole network benefits. “The new rail facility will increase velocity of on-dock rail operations throughout our Port, as well as the entire complex,” said Deputy Chief Harbor Engineer Mark Erickson. It also includes dedicated space for servicing locomotives and rail cars and streamlining feeder tracks to the Alameda Corridor, the superhighway for freight trains moving through metropolitan Los Angeles and connecting the San Pedro Bay ports with rest of the country. The project centers on a full-service staging facility for allowing trains up to 20,000 feet long - almost 4 miles - to be assembled or broken down safely and efficiently. The multijurisdictional buy-in reflects the importance of the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility to the nation’s supply chain. Additionally, the Port has received grants of $26.3 million from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the California Department of Transportation, bringing the total amount the Port has secured to date from its government partners to nearly $79 million. The federal grant is significant seed money for the first phase of the $1.547 billion program to reconfigure, expand and enhance the Port’s existing Pier B rail yard. The finding triggers the release of $52.3 million in grant funding MARAD awarded the project in December subject to EIS approval. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration issued its Record of Decision certifying the federal Environmental Impact Statement and approving the project. “The Commission is looking forward to considering the detailed designs, right-of-way decisions and construction recommendations for a consequential project that will strengthen our nation’s freight network and Long Beach’s standing as a world-class, competitive port.” “Years of planning, studies, community outreach and collaboration with numerous stakeholders have gotten us to this juncture,” said Harbor Commission President Steven Neal. “The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility advances all our goals for accelerating the flow of cargo: increasing on-dock rail efficiency, reducing shipping costs and shrinking the supply chain’s carbon footprint.” ![]() “This milestone unlocks our access to federal funding and allows our Board of Harbor Commissioners to address the remaining local decisions needed to break ground on this critical link for expediting cargo by rail between the Port and major markets nationwide,” said Port Executive Director Mario Cordero. Now that the project has cleared the federal environmental review process, the centerpiece of the Port’s rail infrastructure improvement program can move swiftly from vision to reality.
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