Industry News / Infrastructure Funding
February 13, 2019
California to Scale Back High-Speed Rail Project
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that the California High Speed Rail Project will be dramatically cut back. Rather than build out the planned Sacramento to San Diego route, the state will complete the 119-miles section linking Merced and Bakersfield, which is already under construction.
“Let’s be real. The current project, as planned, would cost too much and respectfully take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency,” he said. “Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. (Los Angeles). I wish there were.”
In March 2018, the state reported that the projected cost of the project had jumped $13 billion to $77.3 billion. Analysts estimated that the eventual cost could be as much as $98.1 billion.
Delays had also pushed completion of the first phase, a 520-mile system linking Los Angeles and San Francisco, to 2033.
Newsom said he’s not giving up on high-speed rail and will continue to seek additional funding.
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