LOS ANGELES-BNSF Railways of Dallas has agreed to create 1,500 union jobs for the construction of the $500-million Southern California International Gateway. The deal is worth an estimated $255 million in wages for the three-year construction period.

To be located several miles inland from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the planned intermodal facility is expected to transfer up to 1.5 million cargo containers from trucks to rail annually upon completion in 2007, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. A BNSF spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com that she expects that number to rise eventually to 2 million containers.

The announcement is a welcome boost for local employment during the slow economic recovery in California, where unemployment remained stuck at 11.9% in October, according to the state Economic Development Dept.    

The Southern California International Gateway will be “the greenest intermodal facility in the nation,” the spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com. That pledge may appeal both to local residents and policy makers frustrated by the poor air quality of in and around the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which are the busiest in the country.

To keep the container yard “green,” the developer plans to shorten the distance that trucks travel by 20 miles a trip. Currently, trucks travel 24 miles from the ports to a BNSF intermodal facility near downtown Los Angeles. By shortening the haul to four miles, BNSF says it expects to reduce both traffic and air pollution on the 710 Freeway, the primary artery connecting greater Los Angeles to the ports. 

The plan “allows us to bring containers from the port in an environmentally friendly way,” says the spokesperson.

Aging diesel trucks are a major source of pollution in the harbor area, and shortening their commute will prevent thousands of tons of tailpipe emissions annually, according to BNSF.  Removing 1.5 million truck trips from the aging, over-taxed 710 Freeway would benefit the region both economically and environmentally, according to the railway operator. 

To further limit pollution, BNSF plans to use all-electric cranes and low-emissions locomotives on-site, according to the spokesperson.

Currently, state regulators are reviewing the draft Environmental Impact Report for the project, as required by California law.