Congress to Derail the Corridor?

Congress determined in 1982 that the Alameda Corridor project, which would provide a direct link from Los Angeles County’s two ports to rail yards, was important enough to the entire region to merit federal funding. Congress then significantly expanded its funding commitment in 1987. This project is no less critical today.

The adjacent Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle more cargo than any other U.S. port. These two state-of-the-art facilities move cargo into and out of ships quickly and efficiently. But that cargo slows dramatically once it leaves the port, creeping along outdated rail lines and stopping at congested intersections for automobile traffic.

The economic future of these ports, and to a large measure this region, depends on major improvement of this rail link with Los Angeles and the transcontinental rail lines east and north. Federal appropriations in 1982 and 1987 totaling more than $53 million were intended to help make this improvement project happen.

But those funds, still unspent, are now very much in jeopardy as Republicans and Democrats try to outdo one another in cutting the federal deficit. As part of a larger package of federal recissions, the Senate has voted to take back more than $11 million of the $53 million--money Congress allocated in 1982 and 1987. The House version leaves these funds intact; a House-Senate conference on these recissions is pending. The remaining $42 million in unspent federal corridor funding could be cut at the discretion of the secretary of transportation.

That these funds have so long remained unspent is the unfortunate consequence of avoidable local squabbles and the failure of too many California state and local agencies to seize the political moment. But Congress also bears a major responsibility for causing the spending delay by insisting that local officials have an agreement in place with the railroads that own and use the existing line to govern use of the improved line before federal funds could be spent.

Now, after the December signing of just such an agreement and after years of tough negotiations, Congress wants to cut back funding. This is outrageous. Of course federal funds alone will not rebuild the Alameda Corridor. The state, the ports and the railroads have already kicked in millions of dollars. Local agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, plan to as well. But federal funding--the $53 million now in jeopardy as well as future allocations--is essential. Congress must move quickly to restore these cuts.