Alameda Corridor
Challenge
Close an $800 million funding gap to ensure the delivery of the Alameda Corridor, the west coast’s premiere intermodal freight rail corridor.
Background
Developed by the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA), this key freight rail improvement provided for the elimination of all at-grade rail/highway crossings (220), while c onsolidating 90 miles of branch line tracks into a high-speed freight rail corridor linking the Ports to the Southern California region and the nation. The $2 billion, 22-mile double-track rail corridor is the primary national distribution system of international and domestic goods between the nation’s second largest seaport complex and the world.
Solution
Our strategy depended upon communicating the message that the Alameda Corridor is a project of national significance. An innovative multi-agency funding and finance strategy was built upon that understanding, resulting in the first-ever executed federal loan for infrastructure. With the ACTA team, we interfaced extensively with the White House, the United States Senate and Congress, California’s Governor and State Assembly, Los Angeles Metro, as well as business and trade leaders throughout the nation.
On January 7th, 1997, President Clinton, Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, and Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill signed a Memorandum of Understanding that set forth the terms of a $400 million federal loan to the Alameda Corridor, which became the precursor to TIFIA. This accompanied actions by the California Transportation Commission that approved $80 million for the project, and by LA Metro that provided $340 million to the project.
The project was delivered on schedule and within budget. The federal loan was fully repaid years in advance. Today, the corridor is in full operation and underpins an emergent goods movement strategy for the southern California region. In addition, it has provided a model for other key goods movement projects nationwide.