The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Barstow International Gateway project recently reached an important milestone.
On Tuesday, June 2, the Barstow City Council unanimously approved and made amendments to BNSF’s $4 billion “B.I.G.” railway project. The council also discussed the city’s General Plan Update, the BNSF B.I.G. Specific Plan project and other related actions, according to the agenda.
When completed, goods in containers will travel via trains from ports in Los Angeles County and Long Beach to BNSF’s state-of-the-art master-planned facility on 4,500 acres west of Barstow.
The project site is generally north of Main Street, between Hinkley and Lenwood roads.
Construction on the B.I.G. project is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027, according to the city.
Certified by the state
It was also revealed that the B.I.G. project is the first transportation-related infrastructure project certified by Gov. Gavin Newsom under SB 149, and one of only 10 transportation projects that will receive this designation.
The Barstow facility helps accelerate critical infrastructure projects that advance the goals of the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure.
The governor determined that the BNSF project:
Transporting goods
During the meeting, BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent explained the current method of how goods are transported in Southern California.
She said after 40-foot containers arrive at the port, they are transported via semi-truck to warehouses in the Inland Empire or Los Angeles. Domestic containers are then unloaded, classified and reloaded onto 53-foot domestic containers.
The containers are either transported via truck to a railyard and transferred onto a train headed for destinations across the country or trucked across the country.
Kent said the Barstow project is a more efficient, convenient and cost-competitive way to transport goods.
The B.I.G. project
The BNSF intermodal railway project is expected to create roughly 20,000 new jobs while helping to address logistics and supply chain issues.
The project includes a 140-acre solar farm, multiple rooftop solar warehouses, solar rail yard canopies and other related infrastructure, all built via union labor.
Billed as a “First of its Kind Rail Facility in the U.S.,” the project is expected to reduce truck and freeway congestion by eliminating nearly 800,000 truck trips per year.
Economic benefits
The estimated construction economic benefit is nearly $11 billion and the operational economic benefit of nearly $7 billion.
The city of Barstow is also expected to receive an economic benefit of $7.85 billion.
Tax revenue is also expected to benefit the Barstow Unified School District, local college, city services, fire and police departments, roadways, bridges and other infrastructure.
Property tax revenue would help fund nine police officers and 12 firefighters.
Support and opposition
During public comment, the city council listened to over 40 residents and community leaders, who shared their excitement, expectation, concern, support and opposition to the railway project.
Public comments were mostly positive, with many praising BNSF and city staff for considering the project, which they say will create jobs, increase housing and improve the quality of life for many residents.
Some suggestions included tabling the EIR while fixing infrastructure and roadways. Others voiced concern over traffic congestion and air pollution.
Brad Poirez, Victor Valley Air Quality Management District executive director, said his agency reviewed the draft and final EIR for the general plan update and B.I.G.
“The district concurs with the analysis and findings for the general plan update and the B.I.G. project as presented in these documents,” Poirez said. “From the district’s perspective, the city has required and BNSF has agreed to implement all feasible air quality mitigation measures.”
Some asked BNSF to consider the nearby Helendale/Silver Lakes community and other neighborhoods by improving roadways and public safety, and building a sound wall.
During her comments, Sherry Bailey referenced an area of homes on Sylvan Avenue near the B.I.G. project when she said, “I oppose building the future of this project on neighborhoods that were never fully protected.”
Ryan Calbreath claims he identified the “unholy alliance between Wall Street, BNSF, the real estate sector here, and the local politicians, who are acting as their puppets to force” the BNSF project.
Representing Care California, Jose Pina said his organization supports the B.I.G. project as it will have “short-term and long-term positive impacts” on Barstow and California for decades to come.
Many union workers thanked BNSF for their commitment to hire a local, skilled and trained workforce.
Barstow resident Todd Smith told the Daily Press to “Mark June 2, 2026, as one of the most important days in the history of Barstow.”
“This is a giant project that will flood the High Desert with tax revenue to improve things like schools, public services, roads and housing,” Smith said. “The approval by the City Council will change the economic landscape of Barstow and the High Desert.”
Before the meeting, the Sierra Club told the Daily Press they planned to ask the city council to reject the project’s final environmental impact review.
“Barstow and BNSF paid some lip service to environmental concerns, but quickly reversed course,” the Sierra Club claimed. “The final EIR says the $1.5 billion project will burn 3 million gallons of diesel annually. “
The Sierra Club said the railway project “aims to add up to 20 diesel locomotives daily traveling through to Barstow, which could create 600 tons of NOx, 345 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 1,665 tons of carbon monoxide annually, exposing rail workers and nearby communities to particulate matter.”
“In similar port communities, asthma-related ER visits and hospitalizations can run up to 316% higher than regional populations,” the club claimed.
The council meeting can be viewed on the City of Barstow YouTube channel.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: City approves BNSF’s $4 billion intermodal railroad project near Barstow
Reporting by Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press | USA TODAY Network
