11/9/2012

Intermodal Article
Harbor commission lets contracts for grade separation, buildings at L.A. port container terminal

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners recently approved construction contracts totaling more than $127 million for two major projects that are part of a $365 million TraPac container terminal modernization program at the Port of Los Angeles.

The board awarded a $55.7 million contract to MCM Construction Inc. for the South Wilmington Grade Separation Project. To be completed by spring 2015, the project calls for building an elevated 4,100-foot roadway to separate truck and rail operations so traffic flows are safer and more efficient, port officials said in a prepared statement. The port is served by BNSF Railway Co., Union Pacific Railroad and Pacific Harbor Line Inc., which provides switching services.

The board also awarded a $71.5 million contract to S. J. Amoroso Construction Co. Inc. to construct new buildings and state-of-the-art truck entrance and exit gates at the terminal. To be completed in summer 2015, the project includes a new administration building — which is designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold standard — a new yard operations building, truck scales and a pedestrian bridge.

The entire terminal modernization program is slated for completion in 2016. In 2009, the port, terminal operator TraPac Inc. and its parent company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. signed a 30-year lease that paved the way for the program, port officials said.