Colton Crossing: Relieving the Oldest Bottleneck in U.S. History

Fifty miles east of Los Angeles, the Colton Crossing posed a bottleneck for the freight rail industry dating back to 1883. HDR partnered with more than 20 stakeholder groups to create an 8,150-foot flyover structure to take Union Pacific Railroad’s east/west tracks 35 feet above the north/south tracks of BNSF Railway, relieving this chokepoint for the industry. In addition to providing economic benefits nationwide, this pioneering project has improved life for the local community by easing congestion, improving air quality and reducing noise. The achievement required collaboration from a wide range of partners.