Report: Oakland-Sacramento barging plan needs taxpayer support

Report: Oakland-Sacramento barging plan needs taxpayer support    A short-sea shipping plan between the ports of Oakland and Sacramento would need $35 million from federal, state and regional coffers to fund a two-barge operation that could replace as many as 400 trucks, according to a feasibility report.
   The Oakland Tribune reported this week that the plan to barge containers between the two ports could reduce traffic and pollution associated with truck drayage down Interstate 880, which connects the two cities.
   Oakland and Sacramento port officials signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to expand ties in an effort to salvage the financial fortunes of Sacramento, whose cargo volumes have sagged for more than five years. The tie-up was also seen by Oakland as a way to expand the San Francisco Bay Area port’s reach in the region.
   But a key component in the working relationship between the two ports was setting up a short-sea shipping operation that could mitigate some of the traffic and pollution impacts from containers moving to and from Oakland from central California.
   The report, written by Seaworthy Systems Inc., called the plan feasible, but expensive. Yet Oakland officials told the Tribune that purchasing custom-built barges for the operation would still be far less expensive than building highway lanes to accommodate growing traffic on the corridor.