Building Trades News

BNSF Proposes $200 Million State-of-the-Art Near Dock Intermodal Facility

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The facility, which will be developed on part of the Los Angeles Port’s existing classification yard, is located between Sepulveda Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway, in a highly industrialized area with direct access to the Alameda Corridor. The facility, named, the Southern California International Gateway, will allow trucks loaded with cargo containers from ships to travel just a short distance before transferring the containers to rail cars that would then travel through the Alameda Corridor and on to destinations in the Midwest, Southeast and beyond. With the facility, trains will be able to move 1.5 million more containers through the Alameda Corridor than is currently possible.

The Alameda Corridor is a 20 mile freight rail "expressway" directly connecting the national rail system near downtown Los Angeles to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Alameda Corridor allows trains to bypass 90 miles of early 20th century branch lines and the Santa Fe’s historic Harbor Subdivision along a high-speed grade-separated corridor, avoiding more than 200 at-grade railroad crossings where cars and trucks previously had to wait for long freight trains to slowly pass.

"This project highlights the fact that development is a necessary component to making Southern California more environmentally sound," said Richard Slawson, Executive-Secretary of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. "Economic growth is inevitable, and state-of-the-art facilities like this will ensure that growth comes in the most environmentally friendly way possible."

"BNSF looks forward to working in partnership with the Port of Los Angeles to develop and operate this critical addition to the ports’ infrastructure," said Matthew K. Rose, BNSF Chairman, President and CEO. "The new facility would significantly increase our capacity to service the ports’ customers and to strengthen the role of international trade in the Southern California economy in an environmentally responsible manner."

More than one million jobs are generated by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which are the busiest in the United States and the fifth busiest in the world. The amount of cargo moving through the ports is expected to triple by 2030.

The Southern California International Gateway will help accommodate current and future demands of goods movement in the most efficient and environmentally sensitive manner, noted BNSF Railway.

Without additional infrastructure, such as this project, freeway congestion, air quality and the regional and state economy could be negatively affected. Unfortunately, existing near-dock rail options are limited. At the same time, although BNSF has increased its on-dock volume 198% since 2002, and another on-dock development is planned, it will not grow at a pace sufficient to meet demand.

As a result, additional cargo containers will continue to travel on the I-710 and other local roadways to rail facilities in downtown Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, further burdening already strained infrastructure.

The San Pedro Bay Ports Draft Rail Master Planning Study Update recognizes the importance of rail in enabling the efficient transportation of cargo and underscores the need for increased intermodal on-dock and near-dock rail capacity.

This proposed facility will improve the efficiency of cargo transfer from ports to customers and allow shippers to take advantage of more efficient truck-rail transportation, since rail is the most environmentally friendly way to move freight over land.

Additionally, BNSF Railway Company has recently announced significant enhancements to its proposal based on input from residents, community leaders, and elected and port officials.

"We’ve spoken one-on-one with more than 200 households near the facility and received feedback from hundreds of key stakeholders. We listened to their concerns and are adding several important features to make SCIG the greenest rail facility in the United States. We believe these enhancements are consistent with local elected officials’ vision for green growth and job creation," said BNSF chairman Rose.

In addition to BNSF’s original commitments, which include electric cranes, LNG or equivalent yard tractors and low-emission switch engines -- making the facility the cleanest in the United States -- BNSF has commited to the following enhancements:

• 100 percent of the truck fleet servicing SCIG will be 2007 or newer upon facility opening -- exceeding compliance with the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP).

• BNSF’s operating contractor will give qualified local residents first priority for all new job offers at SCIG.

• BNSF will fund construction of a sound wall east of SCIG to diminish current freeway noise and looks forward to working with local residents to determine its location.