Written by Joey Brasil
As California continues to spend exorbitant amounts of money on far-left environmental proposals, a 65-mile section of the long-awaited bullet train has become much more expensive than previously anticipated.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority acknowledged potential issues building the bullet train due to how the path cuts across rivers, paths of migration for endangered species, and an agricultural belt residing south of Fresno.
The problem began when the contract was awarded to Dragados, the lowest bidder. The company from Spain assured savings would amount to $300 million by adjusting the original design that was proposed.
However, the changes that were promised by the Spanish company have been abandoned, now seven years since the start. On top of that, the cost of overruns now amounts to more than $800 million for the Kings County segment.
The negligence of the rail authority to assess the land scientifically before granting the contract is a primary reason for the 62% increase in the price of construction.
And to add to that, Dragados is only adding to the current problem by being slow on planned work for the train. The company has not even completed construction for half of what they had planned, four years after their deadline.
This avoidable struggle is a continuous problem for the California High-Speed Rail Authority as the agency continues to struggle to find solutions to the many problems the train is facing. The project is also billions over budget, which of course comes from our tax dollars.
Gov. Newsom has shown his support for the project, despite higher than anticipated costs, saying, “High-speed rail is much more than a train project. It’s about economic transformation and unlocking the enormous potential of the Valley.”
“For those who want to walk away from this whole endeavor, I offer you this,” he said. “Abandoning high-speed rail entirely means we will have wasted billions of dollars with nothing but broken promises and lawsuits to show for it.”
Photo via Curbed
