California’s troubled high-speed rail project has received a new financial lifeline.
Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a deal with state lawmakers for $1 billion in funding each year through 2045, which is enough to finish the Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced by 2033.
However, the funding is not enough to complete the full project designed to connect the San Francisco and Los Angeles regions.
Many California leaders have high hopes for the high-speed rail project, but the costs and criticism continue to skyrocket.
A connection from San Francisco to Los Angeles first proposed in 2008 for around $33 billion is now estimated at about $130 billion.
The rising costs and other factors led the Trump administration to recently terminate $4 billion in federal funding for the high-speed rail project.
California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri this week thanked state leaders for continuing to support the project.
“I am grateful to Governor Newsom, our legislative leaders, and allies across the state and the nation – including those in the labor community – whose partnership and resolve helped make this possible. Today’s agreement has made a big, bold statement about California’s future—one that will create jobs, cut pollution, and connect and transform communities across the state,” Choudri said in a statement released Wednesday.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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