(The DOT circulated the following news release on April 29.)
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today accepted $573 million as payment with interest for a $400 million federal loan that helped launch the Alameda Corridor transportation project but wasn’t due until 2032.
The loan is being repaid 28 years ahead of schedule with low-interest bonds, saving the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority about $65 million. Studies estimate that more than 2 million jobs nationwide are associated with international trade moving through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Building the corridor created 10,000 construction jobs in the Los Angeles area.
“In 1997, we invested in a project that had a strong vision for the future that included two compelling new concepts – intermodalism and innovative financing,” Secretary Mineta said. “Now, seven years later, we are seeing how much the Alameda Corridor is contributing to the local, national and global economy. This, combined with effective use of taxpayer money, makes the Alameda Corridor a model project for the country.”
The repayment is an indication of the project’s initial success and revenue-producing potential. Secretary Mineta noted that 35 trains loaded at the ports already are running daily through the Alameda Corridor, and that by 2020, the number of trains is expected to grow to more than 100 per day. The corridor is designed to handle up to 150 trains per day that will carry goods to store shelves throughout the nation, and to Mexico and Canada, he said.
“The Alameda Corridor improves the quality of life of Los Angeles. By reducing congestion and eliminating highway-rail crossings, it cleans the air, makes roads safer, reduces congestion, and keeps goods moving,” Secretary Mineta said.
The Alameda Corridor, which opened on April 15, 2002, is a 20-mile rail line between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. Central to the project is the mid-corridor trench, a below-ground railway that is 10 miles long, 30 feet deep and 50 feet wide.
By combining 90 miles of branch railroads into one high-speed rail line, the Alameda Corridor eliminated more than 200 railroad crossings where cars and trucks previously had to wait for long freight trains. It also cut by more than half, to approximately 45 minutes, the time it takes to transport cargo containers by train between the ports and downtown Los Angeles.
The project was built at a cost of $2.4 billion by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority – a joint powers agency governed by the cities and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
It was funded through an innovative blend of public and private sources, including the debt repaid today, a $400 million 35-year loan by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and $1.16 billion from bonds. Other funding was derived from the ports and federal, state and local grants, including $347 million in Federal Highway Administration federal-aid grant funds.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach represent the third largest port complex in the world. About one-quarter of all U.S. waterborne international trade depends on the ports to reach market.