It's quite simply one of the most massive and ambitious transportation projects in Southern California in decades. It cost $2.4 billion and took hundreds of workers five years to construct.
It involves the use of a million cubic yards of concrete, 150 million pounds of rebar and 2,200 concrete struts, each weighing about 50,000 pounds. And, perhaps most amazingly, it has managed to turn rival businesses into staunch allies and venture partners.
So, when the long-awaited Alameda Corridor transportation system sees its grand opening Friday, the freight trains operating on it will carry more than electronics, shoes and clothing.
They'll also carry the attention of much of Southern California, as well as other parts of the nation.
The corridor, a 20-mile rail expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to rail yards near downtown L.A., is a massive undertaking and the first of its kind for this region.
Stretching through eight cities , the corridor is a series of bridges, underpasses, overpasses and street improvements that separate freight trains from passenger rail and street traffic.
It's designed to expedite the movement of long-haul container traffic into and out of the harbors, thus reducing traffic congestion and noise and air pollution from idling vehicles.
"It tremendously relieves the basin of some serious traffic problems," said James Hankla, chief executive of the Alameda Corridor Transit Authority.
"The main goal is to relieve the bottleneck of cargo at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles," Hankla said .
Hankla, who retired as Long Beach's city manager in 1998, has served in his current role since the latter part of that same year.
By consolidating four railroad branch lines serving the two ports, Hankla said, the corridor should eliminate 209 ground-level crossings where rail and street traffic currently conflict.
"Presently, there's 30 to 35 train trips at 15 miles per hour (from the ports to the rail yards)," said Long Beach Councilman Frank Colonna, who is chairman of the governing board of the corridor project.
"The corridor is designed to accommodate 100 daily train trips at 30 to 40 miles per hour."
In the trenches
The centerpiece of the project is a 33-foot-deep, 10-mile-long, 50-foot-wide below-ground stretch of dual rail tracks.
Known as the Mid-Corridor Trench, the tracks run from the Artesia (91) Freeway to the north edge of the city of Vernon, next to two rail yards.
Thirty bridges along the corridor route will carry street traffic over the trench.
Two other sections complete the rail system. The southern portion has starting points at the two ports and extends north to the 91.
The northern portion extends from 25th Street in Los Angeles to the rail yards in East L.A. This section will use overpasses and bridges to separate commuter rail, cargo rail and bus and automobile traffic.
The two rail yards, belonging to Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, are business rivals, but came to an agreement on a partnership to see the corridor project move forward.
Cargo from the ports, after being delivered to the rail yards, will be placed on trucks for delivery to the Inland Empire and other points in Southern California or continue in trains for delivery to other parts of the country.
Decades of plans
The genesis of the project, one of the most expensive and ambitious public works ventures in the country, dates back nearly 30 years.
It was in the 1970s when, facing increases in cargo crossing their docks, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles began to study ways to make comprehensive rail and highway improvements to upgrade the efficiency of cargo movements.
But it wasn't until 1989 that the two competing cities and ports came together in a joint-powers authority to design and build a rail cargo expressway.
In March 1991, the joint-powers authority's name was changed to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority to reflect the selected route, along Alameda Street.
Construction began in April 1997. And although the media will be allowed a sneak peek at the project Monday, the official grand opening is slated for Friday . Regular service along the line begins April 15.
"It's going to be an exciting day," said Colonna of the grand opening. "It's a major, major event and a milestone."
Not cheap
It hasn't been cheap to get to this point.
The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles collectively committed $400 million to the $2.4 billion project, and nearly half the project was funded through revenue bonds.
Other money came from a variety of sources, including private donations and a $400 million loan from the state Department of Transportation.
Although the opening of the corridor isn't expected to eliminate or reduce the current amount of commercial truck traffic on the Long Beach (710) Freeway from the ports, it should reduce the percentage of growth, said Marc Hamilton, a spokesman for the Alameda Corridor Engineering Team.
The number of commercial trucks using the freeway is expected to stay roughly the same instead of increasing, Hamilton said.
Both Hankla and Colonna trumpeted the fact that the Alameda Corridor was finished on time and within budget. Both also compared it to another current large-scale construction project, known as the Big Dig.
It, like the Alameda Corridor, is one of the largest public works projects in the United States.
That project, however, intended to extend the Massachusetts Turnpike to Boston's Logan Airport, has been mired in problems for years, including traffic headaches, frequently changing maps, soaring costs and constant delays.
After more than a decade of construction, it's now scheduled to open in stages beginning in October.
In contrast, the Alameda Corridor project, while not completely problem-free, has managed to avoid major pitfalls.
"The best part is that it's been on schedule, on time," Colonna said. "We've set a standard, really. Others have mimicked what we've done."
