APL exec named to state transportation funds advisory panel

APL exec named to state transportation funds advisory panel    Scott Smith, APL's director of corporate relations, has been named to join the Trade Corridor Improvement Fund work group. The 60-member public-private advisory panel is charged by the California Transportation Commission with recommending criteria for allocating bond funds under Proposition 1B, approved by voters last November. APL is the only ocean carrier to have a representative appointed to the panel.
   The $2 billion in Prop. 1B funds are slated for port, rail and highway projects that can improve freight transport in key California trade corridors. By June, the work group is expected to deliver guidelines and criteria to be used by the CTC in selecting projects for funding.
   The work group includes representatives from the state's Department of Transportation; Environmental Protection Agency; and Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Directors from the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland, as well as representatives from BNSF and Union Pacific railroads are also members of the group.