Alameda Corridor Stalemate Resolved : Transportation: Sale of track and right of way for $240 million is expected, and agreement on environmental cleanup is in the works.

Four months after encountering a financial roadblock, the proposed $1.8-billion Alameda Corridor transportation project linking the Civic Center with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach appears back on track.

At a news conference set for this morning, officials of both cities and Southern Pacific Transportation Co. are expected to announce a tentative agreement that calls for the railroad to sell for $240 million the 20 miles of track and right of way needed for the rail-and-truck corridor.

The amount is $20 million less than the asking price that led Los Angeles officials to suddenly balk at the long-discussed deal in August.

In addition, those familiar with the negotiations between the cities and Southern Pacific said another sensitive issue--environmental cleanup of the corridor--also has been resolved. While the cleanup’s price tag has not been pinpointed, officials said, the railroad has agreed to pay the first $15 million in costs.

Pending final negotiations, officials hope the sale of the property can be completed by Dec. 31.

Under plans that have been in development for years, the 20 miles of Southern Pacific track lines along Alameda Boulevard would be sold to a new multi-agency authority so the route could be transformed into a rail-and-truck transportation corridor. That corridor, with new traffic lanes and other transportation improvements, would streamline cargo shipments and eliminate an estimated 15,000 hours of traffic delays per day for cars waiting at train crossings, officials say.

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Although the long-debated project still faces other hurdles, officials on Wednesday viewed the tentative agreement as an important breakthrough.

“I think it is going to be a very important step. Absolutely,” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The project’s fate had been cast in doubt in August when a new Los Angeles Harbor Commission, appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan, raised questions about the $260-million sale price for the Southern Pacific property and decided to terminate its part of the purchase agreement.

While subsequent talks made it clear an agreement could still be reached, a lingering question has been how to pay for the ambitious project--one that federal and state officials endorse but have been unable to completely finance yet.

At an October hearing in Huntington Park, officials noted that only about 25%--or $535 million--of the project’s price tag has been pledged by government agencies.

The specific funding commitments are $400 million from the two ports, $80 million from the state, $47 million from the federal government and about $8 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to Huntington Park Councilman Thomas E. Jackson, who chairs the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Other funding options include new federal appropriations, state or local bond measures and users fees for shippers and others who will benefit from the transportation corridor. But officials note that new federal funds may be hard to obtain, bond measures are a tough sell to voters, and user fees, if too high, could push shippers and others to bypass Los Angeles/Long Beach harbors for other West Coast ports.

Announcing today’s agreement will be Riordan, Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell and Cannon Y. Harvey, Southern Pacific’s vice president of law and finance. Also scheduled to attend will be Frank Sanchez, president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission.