Rail Project: Skies Are Clearing : Vitally needed upgrade of Alameda Corridor surmounts major problems

Reports that Gov. Pete Wilson and his gubernatorial challenger, state Treasurer Kathleen Brown, each are vowing they will free up state funds for the Alameda Corridor--and even are bickering over who should get the most credit for supporting the project--have all but overwhelmed the truly good news regarding this mammoth rail project. Earlier this month four cities along the rail route dropped the lawsuit they had filed against the Port of Long Beach, a suit that temporarily stopped the project cold.

The corridor project, expected to cost $1.8 billion ultimately, would provide a high-speed rail link for freight between Downtown Los Angeles and the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It now takes freight trains as long as eight hours to travel the route; they crawl along at 5 m.p.h. as they cross 34 congested streets.

Completion of the rail link, in which the track would be below street level for much of the way, is absolutely essential to the continued national dominance of the two ports and hence to the long-term economic viability of Southern California.

As obvious as the need for this project is, the path has been littered with disputes and disagreements. One formidable problem was that the three railroads that own the existing routes could not reach accord on sharing the upgraded line. After years of negotiation, broad terms finally were agreed to; the completed agreement could be signed by the end of the year.

When that happens, the state can tap into $80 million in bond funds reserved for the project as part of Proposition 116, which voters passed in 1990. Whoever wins the gubernatorial election must formally request authorization of this spending from the state Transportation Commission and Caltrans.

Another potential obstacle had been the lawsuit filed by Compton, Lynwood, South Gate and Vernon. The suit alleged that the Port of Long Beach’s planned port improvements, unrelated to the corridor, would significantly increase truck and train traffic in those cities.

The suit prompted the Port of Long Beach to pull out of the corridor project, effectively bringing it to a halt for nearly a month. But port officials, by recently agreeing to an addition to the environmental impact report for the project, made an important gesture toward allaying the cities’ traffic fears. In return, the four cities tentatively agreed to drop their lawsuit, paving the way for the Port of Long Beach to rejoin the project.

For too long the Alameda Corridor has been the one local infrastructure improvement project that nearly everyone wanted but which no one seemed to be able to move forward. Perhaps, now, real progress is at hand.