Discussion

The exact legal name of the Applicant is Alameda Corridor - East Construction Authority of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. The Nogales Street underpass project is one of many ACE projects that will reduce or eliminate train traffic - motor vehicle traffic conflicts in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County.

ACE projects are related to the original Alameda Corridor project. The Alameda Corridor connects the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail network, and consists of grade separations, a railroad "trench" and a railroad - railroad "flyover," allowing safer, faster and more efficient rail shipment of internationally traded goods from the Ports to the transcontinental rail yards east of downtown Los Angeles. From those yards, most of these goods are then shipped east over UP's Mainline B and Los Angeles Subdivision (Mainline 3) tracks. The San Gabriel Valley portions of these two UP main lines comprise ACE's project area.

Without the improvements to be constructed by ACE, it is estimated that motor vehicle delays will increase by 300 percent or an average vehicle wait at each crossing of 10-24 minutes. ACE has projects at 55 grade crossings within the San Gabriel Valley. The ACE program will ultimately construct 21 grade separations, including the Nogales Street underpass. Grade separations like the Nogales Street underpass completely eliminate the hazard of train-vehicle collisions and motor traffic delays due to train movements.

The railroad tracks will cross Nogales Street on a bridge, and Nogales Street will be depressed below the railroad tracks and Valley Boulevard, which parallels the railroad on the north.

A temporary detour road and shoofly tracks will be constructed during the construction of the Nogales Street underpass to divert train and vehicular traffic away from the construction site. This will require the construction of a temporary at-grade crossing on the detour road located approximately 100 feet to the east of Nogales Street. The warning devices at the temporary detour at-grade crossing will consist of two Standard No. 9s (flashing light signals with automatic gates) and two Standard No. 9-As (a Standard No. 9 with additional flashing lights on cantilevered mast arm), as described in Commission General Order (GO) 75-C. The project will be built in stages as detailed below.

First, the detour road, shoofly tracks (except within Nogales Street), and the crossing of shoofly tracks and mainline tracks with the detour road will be constructed. Automatic railroad warning devices for the detour road crossing will be installed.

The detour road will be completed, and vehicular traffic will be diverted from Nogales Street to the detour road. The construction of the shoofly tracks through Nogales Street will be completed. Rail traffic will be diverted from mainline tracks to the shoofly tracks.

The mainline tracks will be removed from Nogales Street, and the bridge structure for railroad tracks will be built. The mainline tracks will be connected to the new tracks on the bridge, and rail traffic will be diverted back to mainline tracks from shoofly tracks. The roadway underpass south of the railroad will be excavated. The shoofly tracks will be removed.

The roadway north of Valley Blvd will be excavated, and the underpass roads built under the bridges will be connected. The detour road and temporary grade crossing will be removed.

ACE is the lead agency for this project under the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (CEQA), as amended, as stated in Public Resources (PR) Code Section 21000 et seq. Under Section 21080.13 of the PR Code, any railroad grade separation project which eliminates an existing grade crossing or which reconstructs an existing grade separation is categorically exempt from the filing requirements of CEQA. Nevertheless, ACE has issued a Negative Declaration (shown in Appendix B) pursuant to CEQA, as stated in Division 13 (Environmental Protection) of the Public Resources Code. Furthermore, on May 15, 2001 the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI) for this project (shown in Appendix C).

The Commission is a responsible agency for this project under CEQA. CEQA requires that the Commission consider that portion of the environmental consequences of a project within its area of expertise that is subject to its discretionary approval. In particular, to comply with CEQA, a responsible agency must consider the lead agency's Environmental Impact Report or Negative Declaration prior to acting upon or approving the project (CEQA Guideline Section 15050 (b)). The specific activities that must be conducted by a responsible agency are contained in CEQA Guideline Section 15096.

The Commission has reviewed ACE's Negative Declaration. No potential significant environmental impacts were identified related to areas within the Commission's permitting authority: safety, security, transportation and noise. We find that ACE's environmental documentation is adequate for our decision- making purposes and that ACE reasonably concluded the project will not result in significant effects on the environment. Accordingly, we will adopt ACE's findings for purposes of our approval.

The Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division - Rail Crossings Engineering Section staff (Staff), inspected the site of the proposed Nogales Street underpass grade separation. After reviewing the need for and the safety of the proposed Nogales Street underpass and the temporary at-grade crossing at the detour road, staff recommends that ACE's request be granted.

The application is in compliance with the Commission's filing requirements, including Rule 38 of Rules of Practice and Procedure, which relates to the construction of public highway crossings and separations under a railroad. A site map and detailed drawings of the proposed Nogales Street underpass grade-separated structure are shown in the application and in Appendix A attached to this order.

In Resolution ALJ 176-3081, dated February 7, 2002 and published in the Commission Daily Calendar on February 8, 2002, the Commission preliminarily categorized this application as ratesetting, and preliminarily determined that hearings were not necessary. Since no protests were filed and no hearings were held, this preliminary determination remains accurate. Staff recommends that this application be granted. Given these developments a public hearing is not necessary, and it is not necessary to revise the preliminary determinations made in Resolution ALJ 176-3081.

This is an uncontested matter in which the decision grants the relief requested. Accordingly, pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 311(g)(2), the otherwise applicable 30-day period for public review and comment is being waived.