On an 11-2 vote, the Los Angeles City Council on May 8 gave
final approval to the proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG)
intermodal rail yard, a planned rail yard project near the Port of Los Angeles.
The near-dock rail container transfer facility represents a
private investment of more than $500 million by Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Railway, which plans to develop and operate the rail yard on a 185-acre site.
The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the
project in March.
“This is a good project from both an environmental and
economic point of view,” Councilman Joe Buscaino, a strong supporter of the
project, said. “This will be the cleanest rail yard ever built in this country
and will mean a reduction in air pollution through better cargo handling and
eliminating one million truck trips a year on the freeway.”
The project had been opposed by local residents and
environmental activists who have said that the facility would bring more noise
and air pollution to an area that has already suffered from plenty of both over
the years due to port-related activities.
The two ‘no’ votes were cast by Council members Bernard
Parks and Jan Perry, who said they had concerns about how the noise and air
pollution generated by the project would affect the nearby residential areas.
“It doesn't look like we’ve done our best to deal with these
issues,” Parks said. “There are still fundamental issues that need to be
resolved.”
With the project now approved, construction’s due to begin
later this year on the near-dock rail yard, which would transfer containerized
cargo between trucks and railcars about four miles north of the Los Angeles and
Long Beach ports, primarily on land owned by the City of Los Angeles Harbor
Dept., as well as on adjacent private land in Los Angeles, Long Beach and
Carson.
The facility’s expected to open in 2016.
