Officials Break Ground on $110.5 Million Nogales Underpass Project

Federal, state, and local politicians, as well as Union Pacific Railroad officials, kicked off construction Friday of a $110.5 million underpass project designed to ease gridlock along Nogales Street and reduce emissions.

The project involves building a six-lane roadway underpass and a double-track railway bridge to separate Nogales from the railroad between San Jose Avenue and Gale Avenue/Walnut Drive North.

The Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority is overseeing the project, which officials say is among the most hazardous crossings in Los Angeles County.

Every day, about 40 freight trains, 12 Metrolink commuter trains, and 42,680 cars and trucks use the crossing just north of the 60 freeway, according to data the Alameda Corridor-East provided.  The crossing is ranked No. 5 in the state for grade separation priority, a list based on congestion and the number of collisions. 

The crossing had nine train-vehicle collisions recorded by the Federal Railroad Administration in the past 10 years, according to officials.

“This important project will reduce vehicle emissions, eliminate collisions, train horn noise and vehicle delay and create nearly 2,000 jobs over three years of construction,” El Monte Mayor Pro Tem Norma Macias, acting chair of the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority, said in a statement.  “We thank our funding partners for providing the support needed to move this project into construction.”

Walnut Councilman Antonio “Tony” Cartagena attended the groundbreaking and said he is familiar with the collisions in the area. The project will “save lives” and affect the economy and environment in positive ways, he said.

“I am very much excited because this will really impact the economy,” he said.  “It will speed up the delivery from Long Beach to the different areas, reduce traffic congestion, and save drivers money on gas.”

Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, also was on hand at the groundbreaking ceremony.  Chu, whose district includes the authority’s largest project, the San Gabriel Trench grade separation, lauded the effort in a statement.

“I continue to be impressed by the ACE Construction Authority’s strong record in securing funding for and constructing its program of important grade separation projects,” said Chu, whose district includes Claremont. “I am proud to be their champion in our nation’s capitol.”

The Nogales underpass is one of several such projects the authority is constructing along the corridor the agency serves. Almost 60 percent of the containers from ports in the Los Angeles area travel inland along the corridor for delivery to destinations across the country, officials said. The ports handle 44 percent of the country’s containerized imports, 90 percent of California’s imports, and 75 of the state’s exports.

The authority has made safety and mobility improvements at 39 crossings in the cities of Diamond Bar, Walnut, Industry, El Monte, Montebello, Pomona, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, San Gabriel, West Covina, Temple City, and unincorporated Los Angeles County, officials said.

The agency has completed seven grade separation projects at Nogales Street (Industry/West Covina), Reservoir Street in Pomona, Ramona Boulevard (El Monte), East End Avenue (Pomona), Brea Canyon Road (Diamond Bar/Industry), Sunset Avenue (Industry), and Orange Avenue (Industry).

The authority has committed more than $1.2 billion for the various projects, not including $358 million in Measure R funding that has not been programmed. 

The Nogales project’s first phase includes widening Gale Avenue and Walnut Drive at Nogales. That portion of the project will take 12 to 18 months to complete, officials said.  Once that is finished, Nogales will be closed for about 18 months for the underpass and bridge construction.