The train could be a turning point for U.S. infrastructure investment. Here?s how the state can get it done Despite delivering what some interpreted as a death knell, California Governor Gavin Newsom has confirmed?and re-confirmed?that a comprehensive high-speed rail system is still happening in the state.
But one part of Newsom?s original statement wasn?t open to nuance: This high-speed rail project has serious problems.
?The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long,? Newsom said at his State of the State address. ?There?s been too little oversight and not enough transparency.?
California?s rail campaign is a cautionary tale to be sure. A ballot measure was passed in 2008, setting up a bond measure intended to funnel $10 billion to the $38 billion project, which was estimated to finish in 2029. Yet, due to a politically fraught, lawsuit-plagued battle to determine the train?s route, over a decade later, construction costs have ballooned. Now there?s not enough money coming in to finance the project?s completion?especially as rail funding became limited nationwide after the 2009 economic stimulus. Newsom?s strategy?which he later clarified?is to complete the 110-mile segment already under construction in the state?s Central Valley, then re-evaluate the existing plans to link the system to San Francisco and LA. He told the Fresno Bee he was ?confident? the Merced-to-Bakersfield line would be done by 2027 and would ?connect to Silicon Vall...