ICYMI: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Travels to Los Angeles, Holds Groundbreaking for Major Infrastructure Project, Visits Transportation Projects Across the City

Washington, DC – Last week, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America tour, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Los Angeles, CA where he joined community leaders and city officials to highlight a major milestone on a vital infrastructure project, and check-in on progress on other transportation projects in the Southern California area.

Secretary Buttigieg began his trip at the Port of Long Beach, where he joined Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, port leadership, and other local officials to break ground on the Pier B On-Dock Rail Project, a massive project at the port that’s been supported with over $1 billion from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, that will improve supply chain efficiency, lower consumer costs, and reduce air pollution by moving more goods by rail rather than truck. 

The Secretary then met up with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA Metro leadership for a ride on the Metro E-line where he received an update about how funding from his department thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will be used to improve transit stations and add multimodal transportation facilities across the city. 

After a quick ride on the E-line, the Secretary, Mayor, and Metro leadership got off the Metro at Exposition Park where they took a tour of the park, said hello to metro workers, and met with leaders from the LA 2028 Olympic Host Committee. The Committee leaders shared how they’re working with the LA Metro to prepare the city’s transit system for the busy summer of 2028 before joining Secretary Buttigieg and local leaders for a press conference to celebrate millions in federal funding headed to Greater Los Angeles to improve public transportation. 

Secretary Buttigieg finished his first day in Los Angeles with a visit to a LA Metro Bus Facility, where he met with bus operators and mechanics, and heard from Metro leadership how a new $77 million grant from DOT will allow LA Metro to buy electric buses for their transit system, leading to less pollution and cleaner air for everyone in the area.
The Secretary began his second day in California with a few media interviews, before reconvening with Metro leadership and local leaders to celebrate an award made possible thanks to the President’s Investing in America agenda that will add a pedestrian and bicycle path over I-710 and Humphreys Avenue to help reconnect the community and increase safety.

See below to see what they’re saying about the Secretary’s visit to Los Angeles:

ABC 7 Los Angeles: Karen Bass, Pete Buttigieg tout $77.5 million in funding awarded to Metro for zero-emission bus project

The buses [are] “cleaner, they’re also quieter and they also have a better long-term future in terms of the maintenance picture,” Buttigieg told reporters after a news conference outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “They literally just have fewer moving parts. But there can be an up-front cost, which is why we are supporting communities like Los Angeles with the funding.”

ABC 7 Los Angeles: Karen Bass y Pete Buttigieg promocionan fondos de $77.5 millones concedida a Metro para proyecto de autobuses de emisiones cero – ABC7 Los Angeles

La alcaldesa de Los Ángeles, Karen Bass, y el Secretario de Transporte, Pete Buttigieg, tienen previsto recorrer el jueves una división de autobuses de Metro mientras destacan los nuevos fondos federales de $77.5 millones de dólares para un proyecto de autobuses de emisiones cero e infraestructura de recarga.

LA Times: Buttigieg in Long Beach touts port’s $1.5-billion ‘green’ overhaul
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, local lawmakers and port officials arrived at a ceremonial groundbreaking on a train pulled by an electric locomotive. They addressed a crowd of about 400 attendees that included port staff, union workers, local politicians and state representatives.

“This work builds a rail network on the port that more than triples the volume of cargo that can move by rail to nearly 5 million containers a year — the kind of throughput that will keep America’s economy humming and keep costs down with benefits in every part of this country,” Buttigieg said.

NBC 4 Los Angeles: Pete Buttigieg pledges to help Los Angeles for 2028 Olympics

Buttigieg joined LA Mayor Karen Bass and other leaders to celebrate the nearly $900 million in federal funding for transportation projects ahead of the 2028 Olympics. The bulk of the money is to go toward the purple line extension on the LA’s Westside and Light Rail in the east San Fernando Valley.

VIDEO – FOX 11 Los Angeles: Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, talks to FOX 11 about Port of Long Beach & Biden future

Secretary Buttigieg said the impacts of this project will be felt nationwide.

“The truth is you don’t have to live anywhere near here, you don’t have to work at the port to be better off because of the project. It means less congestion on the roads, less pollution in the air and even means less pressure [on] the cost of living because it helps us reduce costs,” said Buttigieg.

LA Times: L.A. Metro to use $77 million in federal funds on more electric buses

Standing before the renowned peristyle at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where the 1984 Olympics opening ceremony was held, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday touted a $77-million infusion of cash for Metro to pay for more electric buses.

Telemundo Los Angeles: Inicia en Long Beach la construcción de la ampliación de la terminal ferroviaria de $1,500 millones

“Este trabajo construye una red ferroviaria en un puerto que más que triplica el volumen de carga que puede moverse por ferrocarril a casi cinco millones de contenedores al año: el tipo de rendimiento que mantendrá la economía de Estados Unidos en marcha y mantendrá los costos bajos con beneficios en cada parte de este país”, dijo Buttigieg.

Telemundo Los Angeles: Secretario de transporte se compromete a ayudar a Los Ángeles prepararse para los Juegos Olímpicos de 2028

Beaumont Enterprise: Long Beach breaks ground on $1.5B railyard expansion at port to fortify US supply chain
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other officials visited the port of Long Beach on Thursday to break ground on a $1.5 billion railyard expansion project that will more than triple the volume of rail cargo the dock can handle annually.

Hoodline: Los Angeles Prepares For 2028 Olympics With $80m Boost For Greener Buses, Showcased By Mayor Bass And Secretary Buttigieg

Secretary Buttigieg, lauding the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law initiated by President Biden, stated, “With funding made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re helping connect even more people across LA County with affordable, reliable public transportation,” during their visit.

Hoodline: Port of Long Beach Embarks on ‘America’s Green Gateway’ Revamp

According to a statement from U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the efforts to forge a stauncher, more resilient supply chain have been bolstered by the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic funding measures.

“Today, work starts on a rail network that triples cargo volume, keeps costs down, and reduces pollution – and it’s all because of the historic funding made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration,” Buttigieg stated.

Long Beach Watchdog: ‘Pier beast’: Port of Long Beach breaks ground on massive $1.57B rail yard

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, along with numerous state and local officials, disembark to kick off the groundbreaking ceremony for the Port of Long Beach’s most ambitious rail project ever.

The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, which will more than double the existing rail yard from 82 acres to 171 acres, has been in the works for nearly two decades. Thursday’s groundbreaking marks the beginning of years of construction, with the project slated for completion in 2032.

Downtown Los Angeles News: Major Funding Secured: Buttigieg, Bass unveil funding to electrify buses

Bass, Buttigieg and local leaders rode the Metro E Line from South LA to Exposition Park where they highlighted continued preparations for the Olympics. They then toured Metro Division 13, a bus maintenance facility, to speak with bus operators and tour an electric bus, an example of the vehicles that the new grant funding will help purchase. New funding of nearly $80 million was announced to electrify Metro buses to reduce air pollution following nearly $900 million in federal funding announced earlier this year.

Los Angeles Daily News: Buttigieg in East LA touts new pedestrian crossing, highlights infrastructure efforts

My News LA: LA County Receives $10M to Reconnect Section of Pasadena Freeway

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis and other local leaders at Humphreys Avenue Elementary School to celebrate the funding, which they say will “reconnect this section of East Los Angeles that was divided by the construction of I-170.”

San Joaquin Valley Sun: Rail support facility breaks ground in Long Beach

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other officials participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.5 billion railyard expansion project at the port of Long Beach.
The expansion is expected to streamline rail operations, reduce environmental impact, traffic congestion and air pollution caused by cargo trucks.

Long Beach Post: Port of Long Beach breaks ground on $1.6 billion ‘Green Gateway’ rail expansion
With a turn of ceremonial dirt, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Congressman Robert Garcia and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg broke ground on a $1.6 billion project that has been years in the making: a massive expansion of the Port of Long Beach’s railyard.

Inc: Long Beach Port to Get $1.5 Billion Railyard Expansion

“We should never forget the single most important piece of all of this is the health impacts,” said U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, who was once the mayor of Long Beach. “The ability for families … to breathe healthier air, to be free of cancer and asthma, to know that they can raise their children in a community that is cleaner and safer.”

The Eastsider LA: Los Angeles secures $80M for electric buses ahead of Olympics

“We are preparing to be on the world stage in a way that will benefit every corner of Los Angeles by expanding and improving the transportation system in a sustainable way that creates good-paying union jobs,” said Mayor Bass.

The grant was made possible through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Low or No Emission Grant program. It is the second-largest funding award out of more than 100 projects funded by the federal government.

The Eastsider LA: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg celebrates funding for East L.A. pedestrian bridge

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined local officials today near the site of a $10 million pedestrian and bicycle bridge that will be built across the 710 Freeway. 

The bridge will cross the freeway near Humphreys Avenue Elementary. It would be in addition to an existing, nearby freeway overpass that carries motor vehicles as well as pedestrians and cyclists.