POLA Adopts $938 Million Budget

By Mark Edward Nero

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners on June 5 approved a $938.8 million fiscal year annual budget for the Port of Los Angeles, down from the current fiscal year’s $1.1 billion budget.

About $350 million, or 37 percent, of the new budget is earmarked for capital expenditures, down from $400 million in FY 2013-14.

In the FY-2014-15 budget, $281 million is dedicated to specific capital improvement program (CIP) projects. Terminal development and transportation projects comprise 87 percent of the CIP budget.

Roughly $136 million, or 48.5 percent, of the budget is dedicated to terminal development projects, with $100 million helping fund the ongoing TraPac Terminal expansion, which includes backland improvements, stacking crane and automation infrastructure, an intermodal facility to provide on-dock rail capabilities and other terminal-related construction.

Another estimated $19.2 million goes toward upgrades and improvements at the Yang Ming, APL, Evergreen, YTI and China Shipping terminals.

An estimated 38 percent of the proposed budget, or $109 million, is designated for transportation improvement projects, including $35.5 million for the Berth 200 Rail Yard with its accompanying track connections and $27.9 million for the South Wilmington Grade Separation project.

About $40 million has been allocated to improve vehicular traffic flow to and from the Interstate 110 Harbor Freeway.

The approved budget is based on a projected 3.8 percent increase in cargo growth over the current budget.

“In the face of fierce and increasing competition from around the world, we must do whatever we can to maintain our position as the nation’s premier trade gateway,” Harbor Commission President Vilma Martinez said. “This budget will allow us to continue to modernize infrastructure, upgrade terminals and build a transportation network that can continue to successfully compete globally.”

The port says it anticipates spending about $1.1 billion on capital improvement program over the next five years.

BNSF to Spend Millions in Wash. Rail Expansion

By Mark Edward Nero

BNSF Railway says it plans to spend about $235 million in Washington state in 2014 to expand rail capacity, replace and maintain the network infrastructure and continue its implementation of train control technology.

The railway says it plans to spend about $1 billion this year to improve and expand rail capacity in states along its Northern Corridor, which spans the northern US between the Pacific Northwest and Chicago.

“Our capital investments along the Northern Corridor are critical to expanding our capacity to support the region’s rapidly growing economy,” BNSF Railway President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice said.

Expansion projects in Washington State include:
• Constructing second mainline track at various locations on the route between Cheney, Washington and Mesa, Washington.
• Constructing two new staging tracks near Everett, Washington.
• Installing a power switch at Anacortes, Washington.
• Planned property improvements to enhance operations at the intermodal facilities in Spokane and South Seattle, Washington.

Planned maintenance projects include:
• Surfacing and undercutting of more than 1,200 miles of track.
• Replacing about 60 miles of rail, and;
• Replacing more than 113,000 ties.

Some of the projects that are expected to help expand capacity and improve traffic flow for freight and passenger trains on those routes are already underway, according to the railway.

Overall, BNSF says it’s making $5 billion in capital investment in 2014, up $1 million from the then-record amount of $4 billion that it spent in 2013.

A map of the railway’s 2014 spending plan is available at http://www.bnsf.com/media/pdf/2014capitalplanmap.pdf.