SACRAMENTO-The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board recently voted to begin construction of the system connecting Los Angeles to the Bay Area in the heart of the state’s Central Valley, choosing an option that makes the best use of available funding and lays the foundation for expanding the track both north and south. “We are building a statewide system. We’re in the business of connecting major metropolitan centers across our state, and we won’t have a true high-speed rail system until we tie every part of this state together,” says Authority vice chair Tom Umberg. “It’s not one town or one region versus another; it’s about connecting one region to another. ‘’

The decision followed a mandate from the Federal Railroad Administration in October that directed that all federal funding awarded to the project so far must be dedicated to a single portion of the project in the Central Valley. Authority staff considered that direction, other requirements of state and federal law and how to create the core of a statewide system when they recommended beginning with a 65-mile stretch of track in the Central Valley. It would start north of Fresno near Madera, include the construction of two new stations—one in downtown Fresno and the other east of Hanford—and continue to Corcoran, north of Bakersfield.

“Other states are shrinking from the challenge of high-speed rail. In California, we’re rising to meet it,” Umberg says. “And we’re sending a clear signal to Washington--we’re ready to put those dollars to use—north toward Merced and the Bay Area and south toward Bakersfield and Los Angeles.”

The Board also considered three other options for beginning the project, but each of them would leave more money unused and might fall short of some state and federal requirements. This initial segment will use about $4.15 billion of the available $4.3 billion to build two new stations, acquire rights of way, construct viaducts, prepare the site, grade, restore vegetation, build rail bridges, realign roadways and relocate existing railways and utilities.

The project is expected to create thousands of jobs in one of the areas in California hit hardest by the national economic recession, a fact not lost on Valley leaders. “This project will put a lot of my people to work,” says Don Savory, business manager and secretary treasurer of Ironworkers Local 155. “We need the jobs here. And by beginning this project from Madera to Corcoran, California will get even more bang for the buck. Most of my workers are based in Fresno, so we won’t need to pay travel or subsistence costs. They’ll be close to home.”

David Elias, Fowler city manager, notes that this project means an “economic boom” for the region. “With some areas reporting 30% to 40% unemployment, we need it,” he says.

No construction can begin until the Authority completes its environmental reviews of the project. The federal deadline for completing these reviews is September 2011, and construction is expected to begin in 2012 and finish in 2017.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to US Secretary of Transportation Raymond LaHood requesting that other states’ unwanted federal contributions to high-speed rail systems be redirected to California. In the letter, he pointed out that he was somewhat astonished when he heard of recent announcements from “some of our gubernatorial colleagues that they are uninterested in federal contributions to their high-speed rail systems.” In response to those colleagues, he said, “You are more than welcome to redirect that money to California—where we know how to use it to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and provide a clean, fast and low-cost way to travel.”

As GlobeSt.com also previously reported, California has secured a total of $4.3 billion to begin construction on the core of the system. That includes a recent $715 million in federal funding, on top of previous economic stimulus funds and state and local matches.

Instant Insights /

Authority Picks High-Speed Rail Starting Point

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