Crows Landing details set to be reviewed

Crows Landing details set to be reviewed Plans to remake the Crows Landing Naval Air Station into a modern rail and industrial complex connecting to the Port of Oakland will take 14 years and cost nearly $200 million, according to a report to be reviewed Tuesday by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.
   The project master report, submitted by project developer PCCP West Park, outlines key aspects of the 4,500-acre development including utilities, infrastructure and the short-haul rail center.
   The project calls for freight containers to move via rail through the Altamont Pass between the Northern San Joaquin Valley and the Oakland port. Once the containers reached Crows Landing, they would be loaded onto trucks for distribution throughout the Central Valley. Valley agricultural products could be returned via the same rail line to the port for export.
   According to the report, the $52 million first phase of the project, slated for completion in 2011, will see the complex's 80-mile-long short-haul line running one to two cargo trains a day to the Port of Oakland and back. The system is designed to handle trains of no more than 50 cars to minimize traffic disruptions to the area's commuters. When the complex is fully completed in 2021, the rail line will handle up to six round-trip trains a day.
   The project developer envisions the complex having an intermodal and container rail yard, with an adjacent loading yard to transfer containers between trucks and railcars. The site is designed to have enough grounded storage for nearly 1,000 truck chassis and containers.