The Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project will improve the safety and track flow of the Rosecrans Avenue and Marquardt Avenue intersection. Located in the City of Santa Fe Springs, California, the Rosecrans/Marquardt grade crossing is traversed by more than 100 freight and passenger trains, and 45,000 vehicles in a 24-hour period. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) identified this intersection as the most hazardous grade crossing in the State. Providing a grade separation will significantly improve safety, eliminate delays, and enhance the environment.

The project, as proposed, will grade separate the Rosecrans/Marquardt intersection from the existing diagonal at-grade crossing and substantially enhance the safety and traffic flow on surface streets. The project would elevate Rosecrans Avenue to an overpass, which would allow critical improvements along the roadway and BNSF Railway (BNSF) right-of-way to occur.

This project is led by Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in cooperation with the City of Santa Fe Springs, City of La Mirada, BNSF Railway, California Department of Transportation, Amtrak, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Metrolink, California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Metro was selected for a $15 million 2016 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for construction of the Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project. However, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process must be completed before FRA can administer the TIGER funds.

Metro worked with FRA to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed project to comply with NEPA. The NEPA process must be complete before any construction work can begin.

Environmental Assessment

This project was environmentally cleared under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with a Statutory Exemption filed with the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research in February of 2016.

Final EA/Finding of No Significant Impact

The public submitted only two comments during the draft EA public comment period. Neither comment required substantive changes to the EA. The Final EA was compiled, and FRA signed the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on November 7, 2018. This completes the NEPA process for this project.

All project information can be found on Metro’s project website . Copies of the final EA and FONSI documents are also posted here.

• Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project Final EA
• Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project FONSI

Draft EA

FRA and Metro previously published the Draft EA for the Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project, which was available for a 30-day comment period, from May 16 to June 15, 2018. The Draft EA remains available to review online at Metro’s project website. A copy of the document is also posted here.

• Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project Draft EA
• Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project Draft EA Appendices

Those who have questions related to this project should contact FRA Environmental Protection Specialist, Amanda Ciampolillo at amanda.ciampolillo@dot.gov or 617-494-2173.