(The following story by Imran Ghori appeared on The Press-Enterprise website on July 12.)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — San Bernardino County transportation officials agreed Wednesday to proceed with a $3.7 million study that will help unclog the Inland region’s biggest rail bottleneck.
The study will lay the groundwork for a $150 million to $200 million project to separate the Colton Crossing, an intersection where the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway lines meet, creating a four-way stop for freight traffic traveling through the county.
The proposal calls for building a bridge at least 30 feet tall to elevate the east-west Union Pacific line above the north-south BNSF line.
Colton Mayor Kelly Chastain has suggested that San Bernardino Associated Governments, the county transportation planning agency, look at an alternative design in which one of the lines goes underground. City officials are concerned about noise and air pollution from a bridge.
Chastain was absent from Wednesday’s meeting, leading Loma Linda Councilman Robert Christman to suggest delaying approval of the contract for a week so her concerns could be heard. However, the rest of the board voted to go ahead with the study.
Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said that all the alternatives have to be looked at in the environmental study as it is.
Even as the board voted to begin preliminary work on the crossing, officials emphasized that their action did not reflect a further commitment of funds.
Although SANBAG is administering the contract, awarded to HDR and LSA Associates Inc., the design and environmental work is being paid for through state grants.
SANBAG officials say ports and railroads will be the main beneficiaries of the project and should shoulder its costs.
“SANBAG will not pay for this project,” Supervisor Paul Biane said. “It is a good project for our region but it’s not a SANBAG project.”
Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said his company is willing to contribute financially but believes it should be a public-private partnership. He said the public benefits from fewer delays and less air pollution. He said Union Pacific expects to negotiate the amount later when the project is more fleshed out.
A representative for BNSF did not return a call for comment.