ECONOMY WATCH : Power Train

The Alameda Corridor project took another giant step forward early this month when the California Transportation Commission voted to spend $80 million in state funds to begin construction.

The corridor, already many years in the planning and many more still from completion, will enormously speed the movement of goods to and from the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports and Downtown rail links. Currently, the glacial movement of cargo jeopardizes the ports’ continued dominance of the West Coast shipboard trade and, hence, this region’s key competitive advantage.

The state funds were set aside for this project by voters when they approved Proposition 116 in 1990; this money will permit construction of four overpasses crossing the corridor south of the 91 Freeway. Commission approval awaited negotiation of a tentative operating agreement among three competing rail lines for joint use of the improved corridor. That agreement was forged earlier this year.

Construction is not imminent. State agencies may need as long as two years to comply with environmental regulations and to acquire the additional land parcels required for overpasses.

Nonetheless, the commission action represents an important gain. Once completed, the overpasses will speed surface transit with or without corridor improvements. Moreover, the unanimous vote should provide momentum for local congressional representatives to obtain the millions more in federal transportation funds necessary to improve the rail line itself.