The alternative under consideration is a freight rail line. Presumably you could build railroads to the ports without needing to use more trucks in LA? Bear in mind that the US does not currently have any freight rail connections to Alaska!
>A belief at the beginning of the 1900s that trade expansion was shifting from Atlantic to Pacific destinations, and the benefit of being closer to Asia than existing west coast ports, proved wishful. Reduced transit times to eastern North America and Europe did not outweigh the fact that rail transport has always been far more expensive than by sea. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 exacerbated the problem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska-Alberta_Railway_Developm...
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert#Seaport
>A belief at the beginning of the 1900s that trade expansion was shifting from Atlantic to Pacific destinations, and the benefit of being closer to Asia than existing west coast ports, proved wishful. Reduced transit times to eastern North America and Europe did not outweigh the fact that rail transport has always been far more expensive than by sea. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 exacerbated the problem.
It's hard to beat boats!