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LOS ANGELES : City Council Advances Alameda Corridor Project

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Facing a year-end deadline for finalizing an agreement, the Los Angeles City Council decided Tuesday to move forward with the proposed $1.8-billion Alameda Corridor transportation project.

The 13-0 vote came as the Southern Pacific railroad and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continue negotiations over the purchase and use of 20 miles of track for the rail and truck corridor. Under a previous agreement, the parties have until Dec. 31 to finalize the terms or Southern Pacific can withdraw its offer to sell the property for $240 million.

“This is going to keep (the combined ports) the third busiest . . . in the world and the busiest in the United States,” Harbor-area Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. said. “The consequences of us not acting in all due diligence are phenomenal.”

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Among the issues to be resolved are the user fees to be paid by the railroads once the corridor is in operation. Those fees, city officials say, are needed to help offset the project’s cost.

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