LOS ANGELES — The California High-Speed Rail Authority board of directors has approved the final environmental report for the 80-mile Bakersfield-Palmdale section of the project, the first portion in Southern California to receive clearance under the California Environmental Quality Act. The move sets the stage for clearance of the full 500-mile San Francisco-LA/Anaheim route under the state law.
“Today’s approval represents another major milestone for this project as we move the project into Los Angeles County,” CEO Brian Kelly said in a press release. “We appreciate the collaboration with our local and regional partners as we work to build a clean, electrified high-speed rail system that will connect our state for generations to come.”
The board’s approval of the environmental document and project section allows pre-construction work to begin as funding becomes available, and reaffirms the high speed authority’s goal of completing the environmental process for the full San Francisco-Southern California route by 2023.
The newly approved section would connect the Central Valley, where construction is progress, to Palmdale, where commuter rail service to Los Angeles currently exists and the plan accommodates a proposed connection to the Brightline West high speed rail project to Las Vegas, Nev.
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