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LONG BEACH - 03/10/04 - At the urging of the port's Board of Harbor Commissioners, the port staff has drafted a "matrix of steps" to reduce traffic congestion on the Long Beach (710) Freeway including measures to shift more cargo from trucks to trains.

The 710 Freeway is one of the primary routes linking the San Pedro Bay ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles with the intermodal rail yards located more than 25 miles inland near downtown Los Angeles. 

To increase on-dock rail yard usage, the port's rail infrastructure and operations will be evaluated to determine projects and strategies.

The proposals include shuttle trains on the Alameda Corridor to move container cargo to distributors within Southern California. 

To reduce unnecessary truck trips to and from the port, the plan proposes an on-line "virtual yard" for swapping empty containers outside the port.

Instead of a trucker picking up a container of inbound cargo and then later returning the empty container to the port, he could give the empty to a trucker outside the port, and therefore eliminate an unnecessary return delivery.

The staff proposals also included extended gate hours as a way to reduce freeway congestion during weekdays. 

Following up on the staff's "matrix" of traffic recommendations, the Board has hired transportation consultant and former Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority General Manager Gill Hicks to help complete a plan to reduce traffic congestion on the 710.

Hicks will act as the Port of Long Beach's liaison to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) and the Port of Los Angeles in developing a comprehensive program to reduce truck trips on the Freeway and move more cargo by rail.

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