LONG BEACH, Calif. — A major rail expansion project at the Port of Long Beach has fallen at least a year behind schedule, an official says, as the port waits for the U.S. Maritime Administration to approve an environmental report.
The Long Beach Post reports the $870 million Pier B On-Dock Support Project is awaiting the Maritime Administration’s final approval of an Environmental Impact Statement first released by the port in 2016. The agency’s approval is needed because the project is set to receive $16 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, and will seek additional federal funds to help pay for construction.
Elements of the $870 million project include expansion of an existing yard to 38 tracks, expansion of staging tracks to accommodate up to five 10,000-foot trains, and a facility able to handle up to 30 locomotives, as well as realignment of existing streets and tracks. It aims to increase the percentage of port cargo handled by rail from 285 to 35%. The first part of the project was expected to be built by 2024 with completion by 2032.
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