(The Center Square) – After years of delays, the California High Speed Rail Authority has finally laid the first track in the long-awaited $135 billion high speed rail project that will connect San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Members of the community and Gov. Gavin Newsom gathered in Kern County where the initial operating segment is taking place. Leticia Perez, chairwoman of the Kern county board of supervisors, said that this project is important for residents of California’s rural Central Valley, providing a 171-mile system from Merced to Bakersfield.
“What is represented today is a game changer, a transformative moment for the Kern County workforce – our access to UC Merced, our access to other parts of the state,” Perez said.
“As a resident of Fresno County, the high speed rail built right here in the valley has been a dream come true,” said Structures Superintendent Anthony Canales who has been working on the project since 2015. “This is not just a transportation program, it’s a transformation project.”
The rails being laid mark the first step in constructing the actual high speed rail which not only connects San Francisco and Los Angeles, but initiates the framework for the bullet train connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Two billion of the funding came from Measure M passed by Los Angeles voters in 2016. The measure created a no sunset half-cent sales tax measure to fund projects that ease traffic, repair streets and sidewalks, expand public transportation, earthquake retrofit bridges and subsidize transit fares for students, seniors and individuals with disabilities.
While there has been controversy from the new Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency who has pinpointed the high speed rail project as an example of wasteful spending, Newsom said that the project will provide more opportunities for those in rural areas, create a more environmentally friendly form of transportation and is creating over 15,000 jobs.
“I’m deeply mindful that people out here feel left behind,” Newsom said. “This is a big damn deal…. This is about to get very, very real. Thank you for not giving up on the Central Valley.”
However, the financial concerns about the high speed rail are not unfounded with the cost of a ticket from Los Angeles to San Francisco will be $86 – more expensive than a plane ticket.
The Merced-Bakersfield segment is projected to be fully operational between 2030 and 2033, but finishing the project will require more funding from the federal government, leaving the timing in the hands of the Trump administration.