Alameda Corridor Governing Board Elects Councilwoman Janice Hahn as Chairwoman.

Business Editors

The Governing Board of the agency that built the Alameda Corridor freight rail expressway named a new chairwoman on Thursday.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn was elected chairwoman of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) Governing Board by unanimous vote. Hahn, who served as vice chairwoman for the past year, succeeds Long Beach City Councilman Frank A. Colonna, who was named vice chairman. Leadership of the Governing Board traditionally rotates between the representatives of the Los Angeles and Long Beach city councils each year.

"The Alameda Corridor provides multiple benefits to my constituents as well as the rest of the Los Angeles Basin and the nation by improving the flow of cargo, reducing traffic congestion and cutting air pollution," Hahn said. "It is a privilege to serve as chairwoman, and I am looking forward to working with the ACTA staff and the rest of the Governing Board, particularly on the Pacific Coast Highway Grade Separation, which will provide critical congestion relief in Wilmington."

Voters in the harbor-area 15th Council District elected Hahn in June 2001. Prior to her election to the Los Angeles City Council, Hahn had a long history of civic involvement throughout the district, including as an elected representative to the city's Charter Reform Commission.

The $2.4 billion Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile freight rail expressway linking the ports to the rail yards near downtown Los Angeles, opened on time and on budget last April. It speeds the flow of cargo containers to and from the nation's two busiest ports by eliminating conflicts at more than 200 at-grade railroad crossings. Trains that once made the trip on branch lines in 2 hours and 45 minutes now make the trip in as little as 45 minutes on the Alameda Corridor.

ACTA is now developing additional projects to make the Alameda Corridor more efficient. The largest of these is the Pacific Coast Highway Grade Separation, which will carry street traffic over the Alameda Corridor and Alameda Street in the Wilmington community of Los Angeles.

ACTA is a joint powers authority governed by the cities and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Besides Hahn and Colonna, other members of the ACTA Governing Board include Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe; Port of Los Angeles Commissioner Thomas H. Warren; Port of Long Beach Commissioner Roy H. Hearrean; Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard D. Steinke, and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Larry Keller.