Work Begins to Ease California Rail Bottleneck

Construction has begun on a $208 million rail crossing project that will reduce train and vehicle congestion in Colton, Calif., where the convergence of east-west and north-south rail lines creates one of the biggest bottlenecks on the transcontinental rail network.

As many as 135 Union Pacific, BNSF, Amtrak and Metrolink trains pass through the Colton Crossing each day, blocking vehicle traffic at 24 at-grade rail crossings and slowing the movement of intermodal trains to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Rail congestion has plagued the site since the east-west and north-south lines were established more than a century ago. “Californians have waited 129 years for this project,” Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez said at the groundbreaking ceremonies.

The Colton Crossing project is being funded in part through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER grant program that serves the dual purpose of building critical infrastructure and creating jobs.

The TIGER grant will cover $33.8 million of the $208 million project. The overpass will allow BNSF and UP’s east-west trains to pass over the north-south tracks. Completion is scheduled for 2014.

-- Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @billmongelluzzo.