REMARKS
FOR
THE
HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY
OF TRANSPORTATION
ALAMEDA
CORRIDOR – GRAND OPENING
LOS
ANGELES, CA
APRIL
12, 2002
10:00
AM
Thank
you, Jim, for that generous introduction. You
and your staff and the members of the Governing Board have all done a marvelous
job in bringing this project to fruition.
Governor
Davis, Members of Congress, Mayors Hahn and O’Neill, former Mayor Riordan,
state and local elected officials, and distinguished guests, I am delighted to
join all of you for the grand opening of the Alameda Corridor.
After
more than twenty years in the making, today we celebrate the completion of one
of America’s most significant transportation projects, on schedule and on
budget. Everyone involved in this
effort deserves to enjoy a genuine sense of accomplishment.
As
earlier speakers have remarked, by more efficiently linking the fast-growing
ports on the San Pedro Bay –
now the busiest container port complex in the Western Hemisphere
– to the transcontinental
rail network, the Alameda Corridor will greatly enhance American trade with our
partners in the Pacific Rim.
Already,
the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles handle one quarter of America’s
waterborne international trade, and with containerized traffic volumes moving
through California expected to triple over the next two decades, the Alameda
Corridor will act as a catalyst for the regional and national economies well
into the future.
By
eliminating conflicts among freight trains, passenger trains, and street traffic
in this heavily traveled area, the Alameda Corridor also improves safety, eases
delays, and reduces air pollution from idling cars and trucks all at once
– a win-win-win for shippers, commuters, and the people of
southern California.
In
addition, the planning and construction of the Alameda Corridor demonstrate
what we can accomplish with
innovative financing and public-private collaboration.
Building the Corridor required funding from a multitude of federal,
state, and local governments, as well as private investments from the railroads
and the revenue bond purchasers, and a $400 million installment loan provided by
DOT.
The
successful completion of this project embodies the kind of creativity,
cooperation and resourcefulness we will need in answering America’s intermodal
transportation challenges in the future.
As
all of you know, our Nation’s entire transportation sector faces a period of
extraordinary challenge. Seven
months ago yesterday, a determined and remorseless enemy, unconstrained by law
or morality, attacked one of our most cherished freedoms, the freedom of
mobility.
The
horrific events of that day, as well as the ongoing process of rebuilding and
recovery that followed, have reaffirmed the central importance of transportation
systems, not only to our economic well-being, but also to the security of every
American.
Since
that day of devastation and decision, every person on President Bush’s team
has focused on fighting, and winning, the war against terrorism, both here at
home and half way around the world. At
the DOT, we have worked literally day and night for the last seven months to
develop a security regime that prevents terrorists or other criminals from ever
again using any facet of our transportation system as a weapon against any
American, anywhere.
At
the same time, we have not lost sight of the fact that the demand for both
passenger and freight transportation continues to grow steadily, and that it
already strains the capacity of much of our existing infrastructure.
Our
national economy has become increasingly integrated into a global system.
Successful businesses depend on global supply chains, and on their
ability to distribute products into international markets rapidly and
efficiently. Consumers expect to
receive goods from overseas inexpensively and hassle-free.
Passengers demand ever-faster and more reliable travel.
Our
transportation system itself often primes the economic pump.
The Corridor created over 1,200 jobs for local residents;
small, minority and women owned businesses competed for and won $285
million in related contracts; and
over 400 young people secured on-the-job training and education credits for
their work on the project.
Here
in the United States, we have built an extensive and productive transportation
system based on the strength of individual modes – air, marine,
highway, and rail. Each mode has
its own culture and constituency.
Now,
we face the challenge of blending these separate constituencies into a single
national intermodal transportation system...
one which integrates the individual modes into a safe and seamless
network of transportation solutions, extending the capacity of our
infrastructure by easing the connections between modes, and doing so in a manner
that is at once economically efficient, equitable, and environmentally sound.
Eleven
years ago, I had the privilege of serving as the chair of the Surface
Transportation Subcommittee of the Public Works and Transportation Committee in
the U.S. House of Representatives, where I helped author the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act, or ISTEA.
This
landmark federal legislation recognized the constraints and consequences of
traditional modal policies, emphasizing instead an intermodal approach based on
flexibility, innovation, and greater public involvement.
Congress
reaffirmed and expanded these principles in the Transportation Equity Act for
the 21st Century, or TEA-21. Although
implementation of this vision has not come as quickly or as easily as we might
have hoped, the Alameda Corridor is a prime example of this new way of thinking.
Looking
to the future, the Alameda Corridor will provide the backbone for a regional
high-speed trade network creating a seamless web of trade corridors extending
from Orange County, through Los Angeles County, and into the Counties of
Riverside and San Bernardino.
In
addition, as we begin working with the Congress to develop legislation
reauthorizing America’s surface transportation programs, the Alameda Corridor
provides a powerful paradigm for the intermodal infrastructure investments we
want to encourage.
In
the days ahead, you have my pledge as Secretary to continue working across modal
boundaries, to reach out across jurisdictional divides, to get us all pulling in
the same direction. On my watch,
stovepiping and turf guarding are out;
crosscutting and collaboration are in.
In
turn, I ask each of you to continue setting aside your parochial concerns, and
instead to keep seeking common solutions. Each
of us has a vested interest in building a safe, secure and efficient intermodal
transportation system for America’s future.
On
behalf of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, I am proud to share in this
opening ceremony. And to one and
all involved in the project, I add my own gratitude for a job well done.
The
Alameda Corridor proves that the idea of intermodalism has come a long way since
the passage of ISTEA. But, we still
have a long way to go. I look
forward to continuing that journey together.
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