New Train Bridge Opens, Alleviating SGV Traffic Choke Point

ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA - After more than two years of construction, a two-track railroad bridge and six-lane roadway underpass will open Friday between Industry and Rowland Heights, alleviating what was once considered one of the biggest traffic choke points in eastern Los Angeles County

County Supervisors Michael Antonovich, Don Knabe and Hilda Solis were among the dignitaries at the 10:30 a.m. opening ceremony, along with David Kim, deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

The $118.2 million bridge, part of the transcontinental Alameda Corridor-East rail corridor, spans Nogales Street between Rowland Heights and Industry, a stretch of road that has been largely closed for construction since March 2014, except for a two-lane local-access detour route.

According to rail officials, the tracks are used by 49 trains daily, with that number expected to increase to 91 by 2025. Prior to the bridge project, passing trains forced a halt to traffic on Nogales Street, often leading to extensive delays and backing up motorists to the Pomona (60) Freeway, located just south of the bridge. More than 40,000 cars a day use the street.

In the decade before the project began in 2014, there were 10 collisions at the railway crossing, according to the ACE Construction Authority. The authority noted that by separating train and vehicle traffic, the project will also reduce the need for locomotive horn and crossing-gate noise.

According to the authority, the ACE Trade Corridor carries about 60 percent of the containers that arrive at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, which handles more than 40 percent of the nation's containerized trade.

— City News Service, photo courtesy of the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority