Optimizing Multimodal Freight and Passenger Corridors in California: A Framework for Integrated Investment Decisions
This project examines how California transportation agencies can better coordinate freight and passenger investments along major multimodal corridors under SB 1. Many of the state’s most critical corridors—such as Interstate 5, State Route 99, and Interstate 80—simultaneously support high levels of goods movement, passenger travel, and transit operations, yet freight and passenger improvements are typically planned and evaluated through separate programs. This separation can limit opportunities to identify shared benefits, trade-offs, and coordinated multimodal solutions. The project will develop a practical corridor-level framework to support more integrated investment decision-making while maintaining the statutory intent of existing SB 1 programs, including the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) and the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP). Using a mixed-methods approach, the study will combine GIS-based spatial analysis, qualitative scenario assessment, and stakeholder interviews to evaluate how freight and passenger investments interact across selected California corridors. Key research questions focus on how agencies can systematically identify overlapping freight and passenger needs, evaluate trade-offs among multimodal investments, and improve mobility, safety, reliability, and environmental outcomes through more coordinated corridor planning.
San Jose State University
The primary output of this research will be a transferable, practitioner-oriented framework for evaluating and coordinating freight and passenger investments at the corridor level under SB 1. The project will produce GIS-based analytical methods and mapping tools that spatially integrate freight activity, passenger demand, safety conditions, transit services, prior infrastructure investments, and environmental justice indicators across multimodal corridors. Additional outputs will include qualitative scenario-based evaluation methods, decision-support templates or corridor assessment rubrics, and guidance materials that agencies can use to identify trade-offs and co-benefits among multimodal investment strategies. The project will also generate case study analyses of selected California corridors, summary metrics, visualizations, and policy-relevant recommendations. Dissemination products will include an MTI research report, executive brief, conference presentations, and at least one peer-reviewed journal publication.
The proposed research will support more effective and coordinated transportation investment decisions across California’s most important freight and passenger corridors. By helping agencies identify where freight and passenger needs overlap, the framework can improve corridor reliability, reduce congestion, enhance transit performance, and strengthen freight mobility critical to statewide supply chains and economic competitiveness. The research will also support improved safety outcomes by helping agencies better evaluate multimodal corridor conflicts and bottlenecks. In addition, integrating environmental and equity considerations into corridor-level analysis can help agencies identify communities disproportionately affected by transportation burdens and support more transparent and equitable investment decisions. Rather than creating new regulatory requirements, the project is designed to improve existing planning and programming processes by providing agencies with practical tools to assess multimodal trade-offs and strengthen investment coordination under current SB 1 program structures. Over time, the research could inform corridor planning practices, project prioritization approaches, and policy discussions related to multimodal transportation investment, climate resilience, and infrastructure decision-making in California.
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Contact Us
San José State University One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192 Phone: 408-924-7560 Email: mineta-institute@sjsu.edu
