Pico Rivera Celebrates Completion of Underpass & Train Bridge at Durfee Ave.

Project is part of a regional  mega project to upgrade a major freight corridor and increase public safety

PICO RIVERA, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23, 2022 – – The City of Pico Rivera will celebrate the construction completion of the underpass and train bridge project at Durfee Avenue this week. The project is part if the Alameda Corridor-East (ACE) Project is which is part of a comprehensive construction program intended to mitigate vehicle delays, collisions and other adverse community impacts at rail-roadway crossings resulting from growing freight rail traffic along two 35-mile railroad mainlines in the San Gabriel Valley.

 “We are excited at the completion of this project because it will enhance public safety by emphasizing rail crossing safety, reducing collisions and delays for emergency responders, motorists and pedestrians,” said Pico Rivera Councilmember Gustavo Camacho. “Additionally, it will reduce vehicle emissions from idling cars and trucks waiting for trains to pass and eliminate crossing congestion and vehicle delays at one of the city’s busiest crossings.”

 The celebration is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at 10:30 am at 4754 Durfee Avenue. Participants and guests wishing to park must enter from the North of the Railroad Bridge on Walnut Avenue.

 The overall project will mitigate the impacts of growth in trade transported by train along the Alameda Corridor-East Trade Corridor transcontinental rail network in Southern California, which carries about 16% of all oceangoing containers in the United States. It will also create 22,000 direct and indirect jobs over multiple years of construction and eliminate train horns and gate alarms.

The Durfee crossing is the last at-grade crossing in Pico Rivera and located a block north from a fire station. More than 13,000 vehicles cross the Durfee Avenue tracks each day. An average of 49 trains cross the intersection daily and when the gates come down, cars must       wait an average of 2 to 8 minutes, according to the regional agency. Separating car and train traffic could help save lives according to the city. Four people have died in nine collisions that have occurred at the crossing since 1981, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

Funding for project comes from federal and state gas tax and other transportation funds, state Proposition 1B transportation bonds approved by the voters in 2006, Los Angeles County Prop C and Measure R sales tax revenues and other local funds, and a railroad contribution from the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), typically of less than 5 percent.