Good news for the environment and port congestion at the Port
of Long Beach.
Officials on Wednesday September 16, 2015 celebrated
completion of a $93 million rail project vital for improving the efficiency and
sustainability of cargo movement as shipment volumes increase at the Port of
Long Beach in California.
The “Green Port Gateway” project, which was funded in part
with state and federal transportation dollars, was completed this year. The
project realigned a critical rail pathway to relieve a bottleneck, allowing Port
terminals to increase their use of on-dock rail, decreasing truck traffic and
air pollution. The upgrades will serve the Port’s southeast terminals,
including the new Middle Harbor terminal.
The fashion industry utilizes the Port of Long Beach to
off-loading a great deal of containers
filled with clothing, footwear, and fashion accessories each year. The
reduction in congestion will surely be beneficial to our
industry.
Overall, almost 6 miles of new track was laid. The work
included adding a third rail line under Ocean Boulevard, along with new
retaining walls, utility line modifications and roadway improvements. Every
on-dock rail train eliminates as many as 750 truck trips from regional
roadways.
The Port plans $1 billion in rail projects over the next
decade as part of a broader modernization program to strengthen the Port’s
competitiveness and reduce port-related impacts to the environment. Compared to
trucks, trains emit one-third less greenhouse gases on a ton-mile basis.
Therefore, it is expected that the improved rail services will help the
environment impact of transporting apparel and other items from the
port.
“This project will enable us to reach our goal of moving 35
percent of containerized cargo via on-dock rail this decade,” Port of Long Beach
CEO Jon Slangerup said. He went on to say, “It will also support our long-range
ambition to eventually move 50 percent of our goods directly from terminals by
train.”
Learn more about the Green Port Gateway project at Long Beach from
the Port of Long Beach website.
The new tracks help boost capacity as cargo shipments
rebound. We are looking forward to the fact that the new rail tracks will help
the fashion industry and the
environment.