Assessing Environmental Impacts for an Award-Winning Rail Project

The City of Colton has played a historic role in the development of the railroads since the 1870s.  Given this long association, the potential for encountering extant and buried historic resources was of particular concern during the environmental review process. Evaluation of cultural resources was conducted pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (federal) and California Environmental Quality Act. This assessment included evaluation of all existing structures for eligibility on the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) and the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register), subsurface investigation using ground penetrating radar, and focused test excavations to determine the location of buried historic period resources. Buried historical resources were encountered and evaluated for eligibility for the National Register and California Register. This effort was conducted in an expedited time frame, requiring close coordination with cultural resource staff from Caltrans, FHWA, and the Federal Transit Administration to complete the evaluation effort in time for inclusion in the environmental documents.

Additionally, the evaluation of criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants was essential to demonstrating the benefits of the proposed project and achievement of the project purpose. The Air Quality Assessment evaluated the effects of reduced train idling on the mainline tracks and improvement in motor vehicle delay on local arterials associated with the construction of the rail-to-rail grade separation. The analysis demonstrated that the air quality benefits were not limited to the local area around the crossing but also extended regionally to Coachella Valley, High Desert, and urban Los Angeles County due to improved rail efficiencies resulting in reduced idling and delay of mainline trains and on-road motor vehicles.

Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and BNSF Railway were regular participants in Project Development Team meetings. Because of the extent of work within its right-of-way, the UPRR in particular required extensive project coordination.

LSA worked directly with UPRR staff on project design issues related to biological resources impacts and architectural features. The UPRR relied on LSA staff to deal with the complex cultural resources issues associated with the project resulting from the Section 106 process. UPRR and LSA staff worked together to collect data using ground-penetrating radar, remote sensing, test pits, and other field surveys. LSA and UPRR staff also worked together on community outreach to address neighborhood concerns about the project.