Colton, CA – The Colton Crossing public-private partnership in San Bernardino is boosting growth of Southern California’s largest industry – goods movement – thanks in part to private investments from freight railroads involved in the project.
The crossing was a bottleneck causing significant delays for freight and passenger trains alike. Then, a $93 million investment, including private contributions from Union Pacific and BNSF Railway along with state and federal funds, made possible the construction of a flyover to elevate Union Pacific’s East/West tracks over North/South BNSF tracks.
The results since completion in 2013 are improved reliability for freight and passenger trains, improved air quality and reduced highway congestion. The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 31,000 tons each year.
“Goods movement, southern California’s largest industry, employs 2.9 million people in our region and supports another 3.37 million jobs throughout the United States. And the continued success of the goods movement industry and the ports hinges on investment from freight railroads,” said Paul Granillo, President and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership. “With the amount of containerized cargo handled by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach expected to increase at least 5 percent each year through 2020, continued investment by freight rail is helping California prepare for the future.”