Project estimated to cost $68 billion
AFTER years of legislative battles and planning, construction for the first segment of California’s $68 billion high-speed bullet train has begun.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who was at the groundbreaking ceremony in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, Jan. 6 said high-speed rail is crucial in moving the state toward sourcing half its power from renewable energy by 2030.
“It’s not that expensive. We can afford it. In fact, we cannot NOT afford it,” the governor said before signing a symbolic section of rail, the Associated Press reported. “All these projects are a little touch and go. You’ll have these critics say ‘why spend all this money?’”
“On the other hand I like trains, I like clean air,” he said. “And I like to enjoy the comfort of trains. I like to get up and walk around and shake hands. You can’t do that in your little car as you look in your rear view mirror.”
The train is planned to travel at 200mph and by 2029, planners hope to have 520 miles of rails between the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
“Before, you never knew if and when the project would really get going,” said Larry Gerston, a political expert at San Jose University, according to Contra Costa Times. “Now, as those tracks get laid, mile by mile, it gets harder and harder to turn back the idea.”
Initial construction for the project was set to begin two years ago, but was delayed largely because land was not acquired fast enough. Even with the project underway, California has only 101 of 526 parcels of land needed for the first 29 miles. Critics say only a few of these are contiguous, but the rail authority has not yet released these details.
In the last two years, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has also faced multiple court challenges, secured more funding and gained a federal exemption from state environmental rules.
In 2008, voters approved a $9 billion bond measure for the high-speed train, after which the Obama administration provided additional funding worth $3.2 billion. In 2014, the Legislature agreed to allocate 25 percent of future cap-and-trade fees, which could add between $250 million to $1 billion to the project each year. In the last six months, the authority won a legal battle that authorizes the state to sell more than $8 billion in bonds.
The official project completion date is set for 2028, but experts say if the usual pattern of cost growth for big government projects comes into play for the bullet train, it will probably surpass the estimated $68 billion cost.
“Those projections are surrounded by uncertainty,” said Martin Wachs, a UCLA professor emeritus of urban planning. “The public should understand that the uncertanties are much greater than the certainties. But our political process doesn’t allow us to say, ‘We don’t know what it will cost or how long it will take, but let’s get started anyway.’”
With approximately $12.6 billion, the rail authority still needs billions of dollars to complete the project. However, supporters are optimistic about sources for future funding.
Will Kempton, executive director of the trade group Transportation California, said the project “has two very positive things going for it: the unwavering support of the governor and a dedicated stream of revenue through the cap-and-trade program. The latter is a game-changer with respect to the future prospects.”
Dan Richard, chairman of the rail board, said advertising and real estate along the train’s route could be a big source of money. He also said further federal support is a possibility.
However, Republicans, who now have majority control of both chambers of Congress, say they will not provide additional money for the project.
“Now it is less likely they are going to get federal money,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, according to Los Angeles Times. “They haven’t solved their problems yet. Their business plan doesn’t show it is viable. It could become like the skeleton of an unfinished building and they will have to stop.”
The state is also relying on private investors to fund about one-third of the project. However, they are unlikely to do so until it at least gets started.
The first phase of construction will be the laying of 29 miles of track between Avenue 17 in Madera and East American Avenue in Fresno. Subsequently, the authority is looking to lay 60 miles of track between Fresno and the Tulare-Kern County line and 40 miles between the county line and Standard Road, which is north of Bakersfield, Contra Costa Times reports.
The segments and stations in Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford and Merced should be finished by 2018 at a price tag of about $13.8 billion, according to an authority report. Shortly afterward, tracks would be laid down between Merced and Bakersfield.
“High-speed rail brings attention and focus back to city centers,” said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, who is among Republicans in support of the project, according to the Times. “It is going to be easier for people to live in the middle of the state and do business elsewhere.”
The project begins in the Central Valley, which officials hope will be a cost-effective move.
“We can get a lot more miles built in the Central Valley – cheaper than Los Angeles or San Francisco, and we need this leg to start testing the system,” said Diana Gomez with the High-Speed Rail Authority, CBS reported.
The rail agency had 632 full-time equivalent jobs by the third quarter of 2014. It estimates the creation of 20,000 jobs each year once construction is underway.
Although uncertainties for the project lie ahead, Richard said, “We feel very confident that this program is going to go forward.”
(With reports from Associated Press, CBS, Contra Costa Times and Los Angeles Times)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek January 7-9, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
