Neel Mehta 
Siemens AG will soon start construction on an e-highway project designed to reduce air pollution in California’s traffic-prone areas.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has approved the test route close to the state’s largest ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Siemens said Wednesday.
The company will collaborate with carmakers for the electric trucks that would run on the two-mile demonstration lane attached to overhead cables like trams.
According to Siemens, the e-vehicles, which will have the capability of detaching manually or automatically using the company’s pantograph technology, will be outfitted with hybrid engines so they can also run on natural gas or other alternative fuel.
It will tap local truck integrators to also take part in the project, which the company expects to be ready for year-long demonstrations starting July 2015.