Nearly $960,000 has been approved through a Community Project Funding (CPF) grant for a project to help fix the massive congestion at the Stockton Diamond rail crossing. The Stockton Diamond, located just south of downtown Stockton, is near Aurora Street South and East Scotts Avenue. It is the busiest and most congested railroad bottleneck in the state. Trains are constantly idling at the Diamond and emit harmful pollution into the air. Congressman Josh Harder, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced the funding on Friday, July 26.

“We have some of the worst air quality in the entire country and pollution from idling trains and cars is a huge part of the problem,” said Rep. Harder. “The Stockton Diamond is the most congested railroad bottleneck in California and we need to fix it so trains can keep moving through our city without idling.”

“The Stockton Diamond Sewer Upsizing Project will expand capacity and strengthen the resilience of our water infrastructure, while seizing the opportunity provided by the work to improve our railroad infrastructure,” said Stacey Mortensen, Executive Director of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. “With these investments, we are ensuring that both our water and our rail infrastructure can support our economy and our community into the future. SJRRC is grateful for Congressman Harder’s leadership in championing this vital project.”

The funding will help move forward on the Stockton Diamond Grade Separation to separate the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. It will go towards a critical water infrastructure project that must be completed before the railways can be separated. This project is expected to reduce delays for passenger and freight rail, reduce travel time for cars, and protect the community from air emissions from idling trains and cars.