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I-710 Corridor Project

Potential affected communities (18) of the I-710 Corrdor Project

The I-710 Corridor Project is a joint effort by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority (Metro), among others, to improve and expand the 18 miles of freeway linking the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroad yards in the cities of Commerce and Vernon. The I-710 is the major commercial artery servicing the movement of goods between these two areas. Moreover, the I-710 is an essential component of the regional, statewide, and national transportation system. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several items encourage an improvement and expansion project: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Air Quality

I-710 provides a critical linkage for interstate commerce between the San Pedro Bay, the BNSF and UP rail yards, and the rest of the nation. 

Depiction of the movements of goods to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by truck and by train.

South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Multiple Air Toxic Exposure Studies (MATES) project study area. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated the South Coast Air Basin, including the I-710 Corridor Project area, as an extreme ozone non-attainment area and a non-attainment area for small airborne particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5 microns. This is to say that the area contains worse air quality than the Nambient Air Quality Standards outlined in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970. Exposure to such quality of air is associated with decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, increased lung and heart disease symptoms, chronic bronchitis, etc. According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Multiple Air Toxic Exposure Studies (MATES), the highest levels of cancer risk (approximately 1,200 to 2,000 in a million) in 2005 occur within the project area near the Ports, the rail yards, and along the I-710. One study has found that adults who live in areas where there is heavy traffic have between 20-34% greater risk of contracting lung cancer.

 

It should be noted that the I-710 passes through 15 cities and unincorporated areas dense with goods-movement traffic, industrial facilities, residences, schools and daycare facilities and with a population of over one million residents, 70% of whom are minority and low income populations. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are entry points for 40% of all imports to the United States. The trucks that transport these imports emit 20% of diesel particulates in Southern California. 

 

 

The I-710 is an essential pathway for the movement of goods between the Ports and railways of the greater Los Angeles area. 

The South Coast Air Quality Management District data shows air quality below the standards set by Nambient Air Quality Standards and therefore injurious to human health. 

Health effects associated with goods movement in California, particulate matter and ozone related (2005); A recent study argues that $68 million could be saved if ozone levels in the South Coast Air Basin were reduced, thereby improving children's health and reducing school absences. 

It is significant that air pollution has a disproportionate impact on people of color and low-income communities. According to the Physicians for Social Responsibility -- Los Angeles: 

 

  • Children of color in California are 3 times more likely than white children to live in census block areas with high-density traffic.

 

  • African American children in LA County are twice as likely to have been diagnosed with asthma, currently suffer from, or have undergone an asthma attack within the last year than all other ethnicities

 

  • African American and Latino children attending LAUSD schools bear a higher lifetime cancer risk from exposure to toxic air contaminants than children from other communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity

The combined volume of diesel and commuter traffic on the I-170 creates creates chokepoints and congestion. Indeed, many segments of the I-710 mainline operate at level of service (LOS) E or F throughout the day (in other words, at capacity)

Transportation Demand 

Commercial activity in the port area is expected to increase from the handling of 14 million annual twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2008 to approximately 43 million annual TEUs in 2035. The I-710 corridor is expected to remain a primary route for trucks carrying containers to and from the ports. The existing transportation problems on the I-710 mainline will only get worse with projected increases in commercial port activity, which will potentially have an adverse affect on the position of the Los Angeles region in the global economy. 

 

Population and employment in the study area forecast to grow by 11 and 7 percent respectively by 2035 as well. Such trends will lead to more traffic on the I-710.

 

 

 

 

Southern California Association of Governments regional forecast data shows increaed growth across population, employment, and residences within California over the next 25 years. 

Roadway Design

The I-710 freeway was designed in the 1950s and 1960s, before the dramatic increase in imports from Asia and the containerization of oceangoing freight increased the cargo traffic at the port areas and before extensive population growth in Southern California since 1960. In general, the I-710 freeway has remained relatively unchanged from when it was originally constructed and many aspects of the freeway design cannot accommodate the heavy truck traffic. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One explanation for the outdated infrastructure of the I-710 Freeway is that when construction began in the 1950s there was still a great deal of agricultural land and open space in the surrounding area.

The narrow "cloverleaf" interchanges of the I-710 are an example of the freeway's features outmoded by the increase in diesel truck traffic. 

I-710 Corridor Project Alternatives

Alternative 1 -

  • No alterations are made to I-710.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alternative 5A - 

  • Widen the I-710 mainline to eight general purpose lanes south of I-405 and up to ten general purpose lanes north of I-405 (on I-710 northbound and on I-710 southbound)

  • Modernize the design atthe I-405 and SR-91 interchanges, modernize and reconfigure most local arterial interchanges throughout the I-710 corridor, modify freeway access at various locations, and shift the I-710 centerline at various locations to reduce right-of- way impacts

  • Texture treatments (for structures, median barriers, etc.), planting, irrigation, opportunities for community identification, and more will be incorporated into the project design to mitigate the visual and community impacts of the increased scale of the project improvements. 

 

 

 

 

 

An illustration of Alternative 5A widening and modernization.

 

 

ROUTE 710 

The I-710 Corridor Project includes a robust landscaping enhancement plan. 

Alternative 6A - 

  • All of the components of Alternative 1 and 5A. 

  • A separated four-lane freight corridor from Ocean Blvd. northerly to its terminus near the UP and BNSF Railroad yards in the City of Commerce. The freight corridor would be built to Caltrans highway design standards and would be restricted to the exclusive use of heavy-duty trucks (5+ axles). 

  • Specific aesthetic treatments will be developed for the freight corridor, including use of screen walls and masonry treatments on the freight corridor structures (including sound walls). 

  • Features to capture and treat the additional surface water runoff from the freight corridor, as well as some modifications to the Los Angeles River levees in order to accommodate electrical transmission line relocations. 

 

 

 

 

An illustration of Alternative 6A widening & modern- ization plus freight corridor. 

 

 

 

The proposed freight corridor in Alternatives 6A, 6B, and 6C could include sound walls and visual screen walls similar to these walls in Bellinzona, Switzerland. 

Alternative 6B -

  • All of the components of Alternative 6A

  • Restrict the use of the freight corridor to zero- emission trucks rather than conventional trucks. This proposed zero-emission truck technology is assumed to consist of trucks powered by electric motors in lieu of internal combustion engines and producing zero tailpipe emissions while traveling on the freight corridor. The specific type of electric motor is not defined, but feasible options include linear induction motors, linear synchronous motors, or battery technology.

  • The zero-emission electric trucks are assumed to receive electric power while traveling along the freight corridor via an overhead catenary electric power distribution system (road-connected power). 

 

A schematic cross section of the zero emission freight corridor proposed under Alternatives 6B and 6C. 

Track system for zero-emission electric trucks on  the proposed dedicated corridor. 

Alternative 6C - 

  • All of the components of Alternative 6B 

  • Tolling feature for trucks using dedicated freight corridor. Tolls would be collected using electronic transponders, which would require overhead sign bridges and transponder readers like the SR-91 toll lanes currently operating in Orange County, where no cash toll lanes are provided. The toll pricing structure would provide for collection of higher tolls during peak travel periods. 

 

 

 

 

Illustration of a possible electronic toll collection system proposed under Alternative 6C. 

Residents near the I-710 offer their views on the Corridor Project, part of KCET's series on the I-710 Corridor Project and the history of Los Angeles. 

 

 

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