ALL ABOARD ALAMEDA PORT CORRIDOR GETS GREEN LIGHT.

Byline: Mark Edward Nero Staff Writer

The $2.4 billion Alameda Corridor project got the green light - literally - Friday morning during a grand opening at an an L.A. rail yard.

The ceremony, attended by public officials and hundreds of other invited guests, was merely ceremonial before the express line between the ports and the rail yards goes into operation Monday.

Officials and others praised the transportation project as a model for future public works projects across the nation.

``The Alameda Corridor will provide a backbone for a regional high-speed transportation network,'' said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.

Mineta, the keynote speaker, ceremoniously flipped a switch at the conclusion of the program, turning a symbolic railroad crossing light from red to green, signaling that the corridor was ready for use.

During the two-hour event, more than a dozen officials took turns at a podium to give brief remarks, and attendees were afforded a chance to take a 30-minute ride aboard one of the trains.

``This is a big project, so it ought to have a big ceremony,'' said Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn.

Many speakers noted that various public and private entities were able to set aside other agendas to contribute to the project.

Among those entities were the cities of Long Beach and Los Angeles and their respective ports, plus several usually competing rail yards.

``This is a phenomenal example of cooperation and teamwork,'' said Gov. Gray Davis. ``Everyone did their part and everyone should feel a sense of great pride.''

The 20-mile-long corridor is an expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to rail yards near downtown L.A.

It's designed to speed movement of about $100 billion of imported goods each year and give a major boost to U.S. trade with the Pacific Rim.

Initially, the corridor is expected to handle 30 to 35 trains a day, some to begin as early as Monday. Planners estimate that the number will grow to 100 within 10 years, as the volume of goods passing through the ports increases.

James Hankla, chief executive officer of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, praised the various agencies that came together to make the corridor a reality.

``They were always focused, never allowing outside interests to creep in,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo:

(color) A train carries officials and reporters along the Alameda Corridor, the new rail line linking the ports and Los Angeles-area rail yards, Friday.

Ric Francis/Associated Press

Map:

RIGHT ON TRACK

SOURCE: ONTRAC (Orange North American Trade Rail Access Corridor Authority)