Posted on 12/14/2014 1:57:22 PM PST by Jim Robinson
The California High-Speed Rail Authority will officially break ground next month in Fresno on construction of its statewide bullet-train route.
The Jan. 6 groundbreaking ceremony, announced Friday afternoon, comes about a year and a half after the agency awarded its first construction contract, a $1 billion deal to design and build the first 29-mile section from Madera to the south end of Fresno...
~~snip~~
California voters approved Proposition 1A, a $9.9 billion bond measure to help finance a high-speed rail system, in November 2008. But it wasn’t until the fall of 2010, when the Obama administration and the Federal Railroad Administration directed more than $3 billion in federal stimulus and transportation grants to California to begin construction...
~~snip~~
Between the federal money and bond funds from Prop. 1A, the rail agency has about $6 billion available to build the backbone of its system from Merced to Bakersfield. But that’s less than 10% of the estimated $68 billion cost to span the statewide system’s first 520-mile phase from Los Angeles to San Francisco by 2028 or 2029...
~~snip~~
Just where the rest of the money will come from is uncertain. While state legislators agreed this fall to allocate 25% of annual cap-and-trade money — funds paid to California by companies for credits to offset their air pollution emissions...
(Excerpt) Read more at fresnobee.com ...
Once construction begins, too much face will be lost if the project founders. Thus, some entity, most likely the federal government, will have to come to the rescue. If the economy turns downward again, the justification will be that it will provide work for the unemployed, and "Our grandchildren will thank us for it."
Is this project a good idea? No. But if the usual rules apply, it will be built anyway.
There are special interests that will financially
benefit. Another scheme like the wind farms....
Moneyed people who put their money into politicians so they would take our money and spend it to benefit the special interests.....
given the cost of growing a reasonable vineyard....I suspect that rail people wont come anywhere near a reasonable price for those acres.
Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.
I would go for costal desalinization plants> No more water from the mountains to water the cities.
Will the train to no-where stop in never-never land?
Yes I like that idea perhaps a nice by product of a nuke plant?
Like the “Big Dig” in Boston?
You got it! Textbook description of the problem! FReepers rock!
shovel ready!
This is a project designed to soak up a mess of money for a while. Period.
Good grief, that makes too much sense!
About now I would like to know how to ‘invest’ in the crony construction and get my share.
I’ve paid enough in, for sure. Can I get some back?
While we’re on the subject, my last information was that the 99 freeway (and associated residences and business) would have to be relocated.
If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is.
I hear China has secret assets.. Buried .. Deep.. In CONgre$$. ;-)
Find out who is building it, who is providing the materials, and which investment bank is writing the derivatives that protect the project. Then buy their stock.
Don't know. Got to do with where choo-choo go.
Mongo, why would Hedley Lamarr care about where the choo-choo goes?
Don't know.
Mongo only pawn in game of life.
No water, no American citizens, no English....just what Cali needs.
More water means more Democrats moving in. Be careful what you wish for.
Uncertain? I bet I know... taxpayers in places that can’t use HSR, such as Alaska, Hawaii or Washington County, Maine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.