If Congress Reneges, More Than L.A. Will Suffer : Alameda Corridor: Slashing money for this vital rail project will cost revenue and jobs.

Earlier this month, headlines from Washington heralded Congress’ decision to preserve $53 million in funding for the Alameda Corridor, the massive rail project intended to connect the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles and the rest of the country. Then, when no one was watching, the Senate reversed itself, putting the funding at risk once again in a new rescission bill. This flip-flopping highlights the difficult road ahead for the $1.8-billion project.

Congress is wrong to think that this is some local infrastructure project ripe for the budget-cutters. The Alameda Corridor is the nation’s link to the Pacific Rim that will bring U.S. trade into the 21st Century. According to conservative estimates, the corridor will mean expanded trade that generates $3 billion in additional customs revenue to the federal government and creates 2 million new jobs nationwide, plus 70,000 in Southern California.

In the last five months, tremendous strides have been made toward getting the corridor built. Mayors Richard Riordan of Los Angeles and Beverly O’Neill of Long Beach reaffirmed the goal of having the corridor fully operational by the year 2001. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have spent $400 million to purchase the rights-of-way to create a continuous path on which to build the 20-mile rail link. The state has allocated $80 million and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has included $355 million for the project in its long-range plan. Just when the corridor is picking up steam is hardly the time for the Senate to slam on the brakes.

State and local governments across the country routinely undertake their own projects based on Congress’ commitment to help with funding. In 1982 and again in 1987, Congress signed a contract with the state of California to fund specific projects necessary to launch the corridor. Now, the Senate wants to break its word just when more than 10 years of commitment, design and engineering is about to bear fruit. When Congress breaks its word to Los Angeles or others, it sends a message to local governments across the country that they could be next.