California’s High-Speed Rail project may soon face a bigger price tag and a $10.2 billion budget gap, even larger than what lawmakers expected two months ago, as project leaders look to complete the first segment between Bakersfield and Merced. [emphasis, links added]
The update, which was first reported by KCRA 3 on Monday, was provided to transportation consultants and some state lawmakers late last week after the governor pitched his proposed state spending plan for the upcoming year.
Project leaders have been focused on completing the 171-mile Bakersfield to Merced line, which was expected to cost taxpayers an estimated $35.3 billion with a completion date sometime between 2030 and 2033, according to the California High Speed Rail Project’s 2024 business plan.
Consultants have now been informed, and documents obtained by KCRA 3 show the Bakersfield to Merced project estimate could now grow by up to another $3.2 billion, reaching a total of $38.5 billion.
In the project update report, project leaders pointed to inflation and the rising cost of certain materials, such as concrete and copper, as some of the reasons for the possible increases. A spokesperson for the High-Speed Rail Authority confirmed the information.
The warning of added costs comes after lawmakers earlier this spring learned the project needs $7 billion by next summer to move forward.
“The high-speed rail project continues to suffer from self-inflicted wounds, and I am extremely disturbed to learn about this latest information, which further erodes the public’s trust in a project as proposed will never be built,” said Huntington Beach Republican State Sen. Tony Strickland, the vice chairman of the Senate’s transportation committee.
“I urge my colleagues in the Senate … to have a serious conversation on how we can discontinue this failed project as our state truly does not have the money to waste, and Californians are sensitive to government waste,” Strickland said.
San Jose Democratic State Sen. David Cortese, who leads the Senate’s transportation committee, had not yet commented as of Monday morning.
The Bakersfield to Merced line is just a piece of the project that was originally pitched to voters in 2008 as a $40 billion bullet train that could take riders from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Since then, the price tag for the original vision has swelled to at least $100 billion, and most of the money has yet to materialize.
Project leaders are expected to provide a full update on cost and timelines in the summer of 2025.
California taxpayers have spent about $14 billion so far on the project, and it has received some federal help.
Read rest at KCRA
