en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved a $283 million grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) to fund the ongoing $2.2 billion Pier B Terminal Rail Support Facility project at the Port of Long Beach (POLB).

Announced in 2023, the grant is sourced from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) program established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which aims to support large, complex projects that are difficult to finance through other means and may generate national or regional economic, transportation, or safety benefits.

The Port of Long Beach has previously allocated $1.28 billion for the development of the Pier B facility, accounting for approximately 40% of its total $3.2 billion capital improvement plan for fiscal years 2026 to 2035.

Construction on the project began in 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2032. The project involves expanding the existing Pier B rail yard from 82 acres to 171 acres, adding a refueling service area, as well as marshaling and demarshaling zones. Additionally, the yard will connect to the Alameda Corridor, which links the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles via the Pacific Harbor Line.

Port of Long Beach officials expect the project to more than double the port's annual on-dock rail freight capacity, increasing it from 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 4.7 million TEUs.

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