The Alameda Corridor is a 20-mile freight rail expressway between the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the transcontinental rail yards and railroad mainlines near downtown Los Angeles. The centerpiece is the Mid-Corridor-Trench, a below-ground railway that is 10 miles long, 30 feet deep and 50 feet wide. By consolidating 90 miles of branch rail lines into a high-speed expressway, the Alameda Corridor eliminated conflicts at more than 200 at-grade railroad crossings where cars and trucks previously had to wait for long freight trains to slowly pass. It also cut by more than half, to approximately 45 minutes, the time it takes to transport cargo containers by train between the ports and downtown Los Angeles.
The project was constructed at a cost of $2.4 billion by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority-a joint powers agency known as ACTA and governed by the cities and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Alameda Corridor opened on time and on budget on April 15, 2002. It was funded through a unique blend of public and private sources, including $1.16 billion in proceeds from bonds sold by ACTA; a $400 million loan by the U.S. Department of Transportation; $394 million from the ports; $347 million in grants administered by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and $130 million in other state and federal sources and interest income. Debts are retired with fees paid by the railroads for transportation of cargo on the Alameda Corridor and for cargo transported into and out of the region by rail even if the Alameda Corridor is not used.