California's high-speed rail needs $100 billion to finish -- scrapping the project is a possibility

[Auggie]

California’s high-speed rail project has teased residents with recent renderings of how its futuristic trains and massive stations would look. But, despite recent progress and the excitement those renderings have produced, the project remains about $7 billion short of the cost to complete the initial segment from Merced to Bakersfield.

The rail project also needs about $100 billion to make the original vision of linking San Francisco and Los Angeles via bullet trains a reality. And some of the project’s watchdogs say state leaders need to decide soon whether to commit to the entire project — or abandon it.

SNIP

The project has been mired by rising cost estimates, delays and litigation — “Phase 1” between San Francisco to L.A. is estimated to cost three times the initial cost projection.

Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the project continues to face financial uncertainty. Its sole source of ongoing funds, from the state’s cap-and-trade program, expires in 2030. Authority officials want to extend that authorization to 2050.

Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ca-high-speed-rail-100-billion-18979091.php

According to the link, that funding alone won’t be enough to finance the complete project even with an extension. Louis Thompson, chairman of the project’s Peer Review Group, said lawmakers should decide soon whether to commit to building the entire project or cut bait.

Thompson adds:

“It is critical that any funding approach be fully funded, and stable and predictable from year to year. This has not been done, and it is ever more important.”

“We cannot emphasize too strongly that inaction by the Legislature and governor to identify an adequate and stable source of funding for the project is increasing its costs and hindering management’s control of the project.”

This was -- and is -- an unnecessary project. A huge boondoggle. I said so from the beginning and voted against it, advocating spending money on local transit such as (in the S.F. Bay Area) BART expansions, CalTrain improvements, and even a second Bay Bridge.