Alameda Corridor Sets Goal for Participation of Disadvantaged Businesses

AUGUST 12, 1999

The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) Governing Board established the goal for the Alameda Corridor Business Outreach Program for the year that begins Oct. 1. It is the same target used last year for the program, which requires an annual review.

So far, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) – generally small minority- and women-owned firms – have accounted for 22.5 percent of all contracting activity. Their contributions have run the gamut – from engineering and design work to actual construction, from on-call right-of-way services to materials procurement, from prime contractors to subcontractors.

"We committed ourselves a long time ago to ensuring that all firms in the region have an equal opportunity to compete for work on the Alameda Corridor, and we’re pleased the program is showing such strong results," said Long Beach Councilman Jeffrey A. Kellogg, the chairman of the Governing Board.

Among the methods used to attract DBEs are technical assistance workshops, advertisements about contract opportunities placed in specialty publications, and networking workshops where representatives of firms are introduced to one another so that they may form partnerships to bid for work. ACTA also has divided large projects into phases to create contracts suited to the bonding capacity of smaller firms.

The Alameda Corridor Business Outreach Program is funded by the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, and ACTA. It is administered by the Los Angeles Minority Business Opportunity Committee.

"Los Angeles has the most talented pool of women- and minority-owned businesses in the nation," said Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan. "With the Alameda Corridor, once again our city is setting the benchmark for minority participation and demonstrating the power of diversity. I want to congratulate my Minority Business Opportunity Committee and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority for their tremendous efforts and results."

ACTA, a joint powers agency that includes the cities and ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, is building a 20-mile railroad freight expressline linking the ports to the transcontinental rail yards just east of downtown Los Angeles. The project will speed the flow of cargo and ease traffic congestion by eliminating conflicts at more than 200 at-grade railroad crossings. Construction of the $2.4 billion project began in May 1997 and is scheduled for completion in 2002.

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