Calls are growing forCalifornia’s high-speed railto be abandoned completely after revelations the estimated cost of completing Gavin Newsom’s fantasy train project has ballooned to a staggering $231 billion.
The latest cost revisions for the project — revealed during a Senate Transportation Committee meeting — left lawmakers fuming after the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office flagged numerous concerns.
State Sen. Tony Strickland, vice chair of the STC, said the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s plan continues to obscure true costs — and now he’s calling for the entire project to be scrapped.
This is despite the project having already burned through a cool $14 billion in taxpayer’s cash, mostly onland acquisition and construction in the Central Valley.
“I’ve been saying this for years now, but this is the most wasteful government project in probably world history,” Strickland told The Post. “It goes from a $33 billion projected estimate to the voters to go from LA to San Francisco. Now it’s $231 billion and climbing.”
“My dad always taught me at an early age, when you dig a hole for yourself, the best way to get out of the hole is to stop digging,” Strickland added.
The project — first approved by voters in 2008 — was originally expected to cost about $33 billion and be completed by 2020.
The High-Speed Rail Authority estimates the initial Central Valley segment will cost roughly $34.8 billion, while the broader “Phase 1” system will cost $126 billion — although that number is far from set in stone.
Without changes that include revised station locations, scaled back design and using a single track that already has other rail lines operating, it would top $231 billion.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville) called the California high-speed rail project “the worst public infrastructure failure in U.S. history.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
