Pittsburg will gain 175 new manufacturing jobs without an increase in truck traffic.

New development will utilize BNSF and Union Pacific lines

The City of Pittsburg is located in the northeastern section of Northern California’s Contra Costa County along the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta. Brad Nail has served as the city’s Economic Development Director for the past nine years.

Nail and the city credit two freight rail lines with helping the city attract new businesses and jobs.  Pittsburg is welcoming a $93 million, 400,000-square-foot facility for United Spiral Pipe that will generate 175 manufacturing jobs once completed.  United Spiral Pipe is a partnership between U.S. Steel and POSCO Steel of South Korea.

Not only will Pittsburg gain 175 new jobs in a town with a current unemployment rate of 14.8 percent, but the city is also gaining new revenue to support city services as well as creating a training program with nearby Los Medanos College that will allow residents to develop the welding skills required to work at the facility.

A significant concern for Pittsburg residents in considering this new development was that new manufacturing jobs might come at the cost of increased truck traffic.  However, Pittsburg is served by both BNSF and Union Pacific, so all raw materials will be delivered to the plant by rail, and all finished products will leave the same way.  This means no additional truck traffic for Pittsburg residents.  In fact, because the project will use rail, environmental review for the project was fast-tracked, shortening the time between the proposal and new jobs coming to fruition.