The Port of Long Beach, Long Beach, Calif., completed a $93 million rail project vital for improving the efficiency and sustainability of cargo movement.

The “Green Port Gateway” project realigned a critical rail pathway to relieve a bottleneck, allowing port terminals to increase their use of on-dock rail, decreasing truck traffic and air pollution. The upgrades will serve the port’s southeast terminals, including the new Middle Harbor terminal.

Overall, almost 6 miles of new track was laid. The work included adding a third rail line under Ocean Boulevard, along with new retaining walls, utility line modifications and roadway improvements. Every on-dock rail train eliminates as many as 750 truck trips from regional roadways.

“The Green Port Gateway shows the Port of Long Beach’s commitment to moving trade in an environmentally responsible way,” says Lori Ann Guzmán, president of the Board of Harbor Commissioners, Los Angeles, Calif. “I want to thank our state and federal partners who recognized the importance of this critical project.”

Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup said the Green Port Gateway is a key part of building the “Port of the Future.”

“This project will enable us to reach our goal of moving 35% of containerized cargo via on-dock rail this decade,” Slangerup adds. “It will also support our long-range ambition to eventually move 50% of our goods directly from terminals by train.”

With 175 shipping lines connecting Long Beach to 217 seaports, the port handles $180 billion in trade annually, supporting hundreds of thousands of Southern California jobs.