KPMG reviewed financial statements of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) for the year ended June 30, 1999, and found no material weaknesses. The ACTA Governing Board received and filed the report Thursday.

Since September 1999, ACTA has received four reports of audits, risk assessment and internal controls from the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and KPMG. None of these reports noted any material weakness or reportable conditions in ACTA’s internal controls.

For example, the DOT Inspector General said ACTA’s financial plan identified sufficient funding to meet costs and that the project was on-schedule and on-budget. KPMG had previously reported in a risk assessment that ACTA had taken "proactive steps to develop internal controls to manage the risks associated with ACTA’s operations."

"The most recent KPMG report reaffirms the financial security of the Alameda Corridor project," said Chief Financial Officer W. Dean Martin. "We find these types of reviews useful because they continually challenge us to enhance the efficiency of our operation."

The $2.4 billion project includes funding from multiple sources, including:

• $1.165 billion in bond proceeds.
• $400 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• $394 million in grants from the ports.
• $347 million administered by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
• $154 million in other state and federal sources and interest income.

ACTA, a partnership between the cities and ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, is building a 20-mile-long railroad cargo expressway from the ports to the transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. The project, scheduled for completion in 2002, will speed the flow of cargo and reduce traffic congestion by eliminating conflicts at more than 200 street-level railroad crossings.