Port of Long Beach has chosen lead design for the $870 million rail project

As capacity at the port continues to increase, the design contract for the project to increase the efficiency has been awarded to HDR and is expected to cost in excess of $870 million.

The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility Project will expand the port’s capability for loading shipping containers directly onto rail cars instead of being loaded on trucks for short-haul trips. The expansion and reconfiguration of the existing Pier B rail yard will create a staging area for loading freight trains nearly two miles long, eliminating thousands of local truck trips.

Port Executive Director, Mario Cordero, in his State of the Port of Long Beach address in January 2019, said: “This is visionary. This port is taking the lead in rail. The delivery of containers to and from ships by train is the most sustainable and efficient way to move cargo in and out of the port. Each train eliminates as many as 750 truck trips, speeding the flow of goods and cutting traffic on roadways. Train is a big part of our green future.”

The City of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners last month approved the selection of HDR to lead design for the project, as well as site investigations, traffic studies, structural analyses, lighting analyses, programme sequencing and more. The selection marks a major milestone for a project that has been in the works for years.

The work continues HDR’s history of improving efficiency in the area. Earlier this decade, the company delivered the award-winning Colton Crossing project about 70 miles east of the port, which effectively removed the biggest rail network chokepoint in the nation. The Long Beach port project will continue that work, creating one of the most efficient, modernised rail facilities in the nation at its origin.

HDR will work with sub-consultant Moffatt & Nichol on the Pier B project, scheduled to be completed in three phases, with the first phase expected to be complete by 2024.

HDR’s Tom Kim, Senior Vice President and transportation manager for Southern California, said: “This is a game-changer for the port. We have been working with the port a long time on preparation for this critical project, and we’re excited to see it all come together.”