Port of Oakland officials announced earlier this week that California voters passed Proposition 1B, the $20 billion transportation bond measure, during last Tuesday’s midterm elections with over 60 percent of the vote.

The Port of Oakland will seek approximately $600 million for goods movement initiatives, environmental programs, and security enhancements from these bonds.

“Funding from these bonds will give the Port the opportunity to finance significant projects that will enable us to move goods quickly, reliably, and safely,” said Port of Oakland Director of Maritime, Wilson Lacy.

Proposition 1B contains funding for critical infrastructure projects, as well as funds for environmental solutions to address the impacts of increased goods movement in California, Lacy said.

Waterborne commerce through California ports accounts for 43 percent of the country’s total goods. The volume of business through California ports has increased five times faster than corresponding growth in infrastructure.Last year, the Port of Oakland moved over 2.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).

Priority projects that the Port said would benefit from Proposition 1B funding include:

7th Street Grade Separation
This project is aimed at increasing the Port’s capacity for moving cargo through the Port area. The current rail bridges and roadways were constructed in phases between 1930 and 1954 and cannot meet the rail infrastructure requirements for future Port growth. Replacing the existing rail bridge will also involve the widening of Seventh Street (7th St), a major arterial street that connects the Port with I-880.

“Green” Rail Facility
This project will create an intermodal rail terminal at the location of the former Oakland Army Base.The project will include the construction of container loading and unloading tracks, container parking areas, and connections to the major railroad lines. This facility will increase rail terminal capacity from approximately 640,000 containers per year to 1.7 million containers. This project will also include the development of a state-of-the-art, clean-air facility, with fully-electric yard operations.