The California Transportation Commission (CTC) last month announced the award of $187.4 million in 2018 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program Grants funded by Senate Bill 1-the statewide gas tax enacted in 2017-to construct two projects as part of the Global Opportunities at the Port of Oakland ("GoPort") Program: the 7th Street Grade Separation (East) and the Freight Intelligent Transportation System.
BC STAFF REPORT
Published: June, 2018
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) last month announced the award of $187.4 million in 2018 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program Grants funded by Senate Bill 1—the statewide gas tax enacted in 2017—to construct two projects as part of the Global Opportunities at the Port of Oakland (“GoPort”) Program: the 7th Street Grade Separation (East) and the Freight Intelligent Transportation System.
Of the awarded funds, $175 million will support the 7th Street Grade Separation Project (East), which will replace an existing railroad underpass between I-880 and Maritime Street to increase clearance for trucks. The project aims to alleviate a major chokepoint for intercontinental rail and drayage trucks, and will improve a shared pedestrian/bicycle pathway.
A second grant of $12.4 million will fund the Freight Intelligent Transportation System to implement technology to manage truck arrivals, improve incident response and connect to regional smart corridor systems. The project will include backbone communications infrastructure and systems integration and lays the technological foundation to support future developments in truck and connected vehicle technologies.
Together, these projects will improve freight efficiencies, maintain and expand the port’s market and operational competitiveness, and support local, regional, state and national economic development and port growth potential.
The GoPort projects will also reduce impacts on local communities by accommodating anticipated truck and rail on port property rather than spillover on local streets, and the overall port circulation efficiencies expected from the projects will help to reduce emissions in West Oakland. The project also includes improved bike and pedestrian safety with a modernized trail that will connect to Middle Harbor Shoreline Park and the Bay Trail.
“These projects will improve reliability of travel time and access throughout the Port of Oakland, increasing efficiency while reducing congestion and air quality impacts on the local community and eliminating truck backups onto local streets,” said Alameda CTC Chair Supervisor Richard Valle. “They also support increased use of rail, which is a key part of the region’s and county’s goods movement strategy.”
GoPort was identified as a priority in both the Alameda County and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Goods Movement Plans (adopted in 2017), and was included in the region’s Plan Bay Area 2040. GoPort includes a number of discrete but synergistic improvements to truck and rail access at the Port of Oakland - one of the top 10 busiest container ports in the nation - that will enhance access to world markets for producers, alleviate congestion on two primary highway freight system intermodal connectors, improve rail safety and efficiency, and better manage truck arrivals with innovative technology.
“Collectively the GoPort projects will significantly improve port efficiencies, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the port in the global market while also significantly reducing impacts to the local community,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Christopher Lytle.
“These gas tax funds will be serving a critical role to reduce freight congestion on freeways and rail lines, reducing emissions and improving air quality and brining good jobs,” added Alameda CTC Executive Director Arthur L. Dao. “While our local transportation sales tax measures got these projects underway, and serve as key leverage, we wouldn’t be able to move forward into construction on these priority projects without the statewide gas tax funds.”
Additionally, the Port of Oakland and its largest marine terminal operator, the Oakland International Container Terminal, are seeking to partner with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on an innovative program to upgrade and replace the heavy-duty diesel engines on all of their landside container handling cranes with hybrid battery-electric engines.
If grant funding is approved, this nearly $6 million upgrade will reduce pollutant emissions from these cranes by nearly 99 percent from their current levels and will serve as an important step in the introduction of near-zero and zero emissions equipment throughout the Port of Oakland’s operations.
