Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

2 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

6 hours ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

7 hours ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

7 hours ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

8 hours ago
Cost Soars to $105 Billion for CA High-Speed Rail Project
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
February 9, 2022

Share

 

SACRAMENTO — Another $5 billion has been added to the cost of California’s ambitious but long-delayed high-speed rail line, according to estimates released Tuesday that show it could take $105 billion to finish the route from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The figures were included in the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s latest biennial business plan. The increases are partly due to commitments aimed at minimizing community disruption, such as distancing the train from the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in the Central Valley and tunneling tracks near the Burbank airport, project officials said.

The project’s price tag has steadily risen since voters first approved nearly $10 billion in bond money for it in 2008, when the total cost was pegged at $40 billion. In the years since, the costs have kept climbing amid struggles to obtain the necessary land and other delays. Today, the rail authority is far short of the money it needs to complete the full project.

Patterson: Project Loaded With ‘Embarrassing Failures’

Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) is a longtime critic of the project. He said he was unimpressed by the business plan’s hopes for receiving more federal money to build a double track.

“Given the embarrassing failures this project has racked up, I’d be surprised if the feds decide to throw more money at it,” Patterson said in a statement.

Authority Has 90% of Land for First Segment

The first part of the line will run through the Central Valley; construction is underway on a 119-mile segment where the trains will first be tested before the track is extended to take passengers from Merced to Bakersfield. No track has yet been laid, but the authority has obtained 90% of the land parcels it needs for the first segment and more than half the full 500-mile route is now environmentally cleared, according to the business plan.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Kelly said Tuesday the possibility of a fresh infusion of cash from the federal government puts the project on a stronger path. California should be in a good position to compete for as much as $6 billion in grant money under the federal infrastructure bill Congress passed last year, he said.

During the Obama administration, California won roughly $3.5 billion for the project, then former Republican President Donald Trump revoked about $1 billion of that. It’s been returned by the Biden administration.

Receiving billions more in federal dollars would allow the project’s first operational track to be a double track, not a single one, and help the project move forward on design and other work, Kelly said.

“We just think that this is a great opportunity to really move the project forward,” he said.

More State Funding Needed

As the project waits for more funding from the Biden administration, the rail authority is also fighting for money from the state. Last year, the Legislature did not agree to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget request to release $4.2 billion that’s left in the voter-approved bond fund for the project. Democratic leaders in the state Assembly have been hesitant to release the money due to skepticism about the project’s overall approach and lack of sustained funding.

Last fall, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman suggested the rail authority delay plans to electrify the first leg of track. Neither responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Newsom, a Democrat, proposed releasing the money again in his January budget proposal as part of a transportation package that also includes billions of dollars for local rail and transportation projects.

“Although the administration was disappointed that the transportation package didn’t get done last year, we continue to move forward and are working to achieve funding in this year’s budget,” Newsom spokesman Daniel Lopez said in a statement.

Beyond the bond money and federal dollars, the rail project is funded by revenue from California’s cap-and-trade program, which requires polluters to buy permits to emit carbon.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

DON'T MISS

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

DON'T MISS

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Bill on Friday at 5 p.m., White House Says

UP NEXT

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

UP NEXT

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

UP NEXT

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

UP NEXT

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

Trump to Sign Bill on Friday at 5 p.m., White House Says

UP NEXT

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

40 minutes ago

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

1 hour ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

2 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Bill on Friday at 5 p.m., White House Says

3 hours ago

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

3 hours ago

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

3 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 hours ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

ASHINGTON – The U.S. military said on Thursday it will send 200 Marines to Florida to provide administrative and logistical support to...

14 minutes ago

An ICE agent talks with migrants about their scheduled appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Father’s Day, to learn about their immigration status, in Chicago, Illinois., U.S., June 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 minutes ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

Boeing logo and miniature satellite model are seen in this illustration taken, March 10, 2025. (Reuters File)
23 minutes ago

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

26 minutes ago

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
40 minutes ago

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

A general view of a U.S. State Department sign, on the day U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

An electric vehicle charging location is shown from the view of a drone in Carlsbad, California, U.S., May 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

Actor Michael Madsen arrives at the Hollywood Film Awards in Beverly Hills, California November 1, 2015. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

Bullard High School’s basketball fundraiser was hit by a $40,000 fireworks theft, with police recovering about $10,800 worth during Fresno raids. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend