SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High-Speed Rail Authority board of directors has approved contracts for design of 52.4 miles of right-of-way that will extend the route north to Merced and south to Bakersfield, completing the initial 171-mile segment in the state’s Central Valley.
The board awarded a $41 million design contract to Stantec Consulting Services for the 33.9-mile, 40-structure Merced-Madera segment, and a $44.9 million contract to HNTB for 18.5 miles between Shafter and Bakersfield. The contracts, expected to last for two years, will see the companies work with the high speed authority to finalize the project footprint, advance design work, and map right-of-way and utility relocation. These steps are prelude to construction, with the goal of operating trains between Merced and Bakersfield by the end of the decade.
“Taken together, these contracts bolster the Authority’s effort to have high-speed trains operating in the heart of California by the end of the decade,” Authority Chairman Tom Richards said in a press release. “These contracts demonstrate our ability to leverage lessons learned from past contracts, increase project readiness and prepare for continued progress on this transformative project.”
The 119-mile segment between Madera and Shafter is currently under construction. More information on construction is available here.
My opinion is that Bakersfield to Palmdale and Madera to Gilroy should have been the first segments built. Both together would have filled in places where California does not have usable passenger rail. Then build out from there.
Let us see. The transontinental RR already had ROW designated and if necessary could change that on the fly without any interferrence except indians. So did not have to dicker to buy real estate. It did not have to avoid any roads, waterways, power lines, other RRs. Now rivers and mountains a different story.. Worse still underground utilities that in many cases are not documented. Still delayed real estate acquisition has been the Anchilies Heel.
Plenty to say about what should be instead of what is at this point. No doubt the idea of creating a separate state agency instead using the resources one of the biggest DOT in the country with decades of experience hands down has to be a classic example of what not to do in building transportation infrastructure in my opinion. That being said, some big hurdles cleared with most the litigation and lawsuits have been settled, finally some steady progress on real estate and utilities and believe all or at least the environmental impact statements from Bakersfield to San Jose finalized.
..
The reality is that the ground up construction is not the issue getting in things getting built these day. It is our society of multiple layers of government & stakeholders, what is demanded by everyone including every known non profit known to mankind, and then the litigation by those who didn’t get what they want even before a pick, shovel and or wheelbarrow is ever used. Heck, CPKS want to merge and a group of Chicago suburbs are demanding billions on an existing right of way.
8 years to get 52.4 miles done. I wonder what the odds are it will even be done by then.
And remember, these contracts are only for design. They will still have to let construction contracts, which in turn will have to be executed.
How long did it take to build the Transcontinental Railroad with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows.
I get your point, but, it was a project of great national importance, and there were a lot of fatalities, labor problems, tremendous graft and cost overruns, tho’, and no environmental laws whatsoever. Not to mention the Native Americans who were not on board with the whole affair. Also, the Central Pacific through the Sierras used a whole lot of nitroglycerin – yikes.
Someday when I’m old and visit California again perhaps the thing finally will be done.
Gonna ride from Richmond VA to Trenton NJ in two weeks and even with the 90 year old PRR improvements and electrification and the later Acela improvements the trip is still way too danged long and its almost always easier and faster to drive.