The California High-Speed Rail Authority conducted a public webinar Aug. 5 to answer questions about environmental documents, including impacts and mitigation, as well as the status of the San Francisco to San Jose section of the project, which is planned to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Another webinar is scheduled for Aug. 19.
While San Benito County was not included on the agenda, James Tung, project manager for that section, told BenitoLink the authority’s 2020 Business Plan states that the proposed section going through San Benito County and over Pacheco Pass will not be completed until 2031. The entire project is slated for completion in 2033.
District 2 County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, whose district the tracks may cross over, declined to talk to BenitoLink citing a conflict of interest because the route will pass through an orchard he owns.
In April 2019, the High-Speed Rail Authority said that there were two possible routes through San Benito County: one would cross over Frazier Lake Road and then Bloomfield Road; the other would run between Frazier Lake Road and Highway 25. There is a maintenance yard planned alongside whichever route is chosen. Both lead into the Pacheco Pass near Casa de Fruta and into a tunnel.
Tung confirmed Aug. 5 that the 2020 plan still includes the maintenance yard.
“That facility will store maintenance equipment,” he said, adding, “There are going to be two tunnels over Pacheco Pass. One will be a mile and a half long. The other will be 13.5 miles.”
He said the project timeline depends on available funding.
“We don’t have funding for construction between San Francisco and the Central Valley yet, but if we did, we could potentially start construction around 2027,” Tung said. “The reason for that is because as we finish off the environmental clearances, we can launch into the procurement period that’s just over a year long.”
This would allow the authority to develop an “engineering document” and begin requesting bids, Tung said.
“After that, we’ll be able to hire a final designer and contractor who will take the plans through final design, which will take approximately another year and a half before starting construction,” he said. “Throughout that process we’ll be working on securing right-of-ways and permits.”
Any right-of-way through the county is dependent on first securing environmental clearances, which Tung anticipates will happen in about a year. He confirmed there are still no plans to build a passenger terminal in San Benito County. Graham Ricci, public information officer for the authority, told BenitoLink there are no plans to build one in Los Banos either. The closest planned terminal south and east of Gilroy is in Merced.
The draft supplemental environmental impact report/environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS) for the San Francisco to San Jose section was originally made available for a minimum 45-day public review beginning July 10 and ending Aug. 24, but the High-Speed Rail Authority extended it to Sept. 9 in consideration of limitations for public meetings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tung said Gov. Gavin Newsom decided to maximize expenditures by concentrating on the Central Valley portion of the project first, which happened in 2019. According to the authority’s construction update videos, there are 32 active construction sites spanning 119 miles from north of Fresno to north of Bakersfield.
According to the authority’s webpage, the 51-mile section from San Francisco to San Jose is part of the first phase of the California high-speed rail system connecting communities from San Francisco and Silicon Valley to the rest of the state.
The high-speed rail project was launched with the approval of Proposition 1A in 2008, which was approved by two-thirds of the legislature and 53% of voters. It provided $9 billion to begin the project, 20% of the estimated cost that would be matched by other funding sources. Between now and 2030, the High-Speed Rail Authority has a budget of between $20.6 billion and $23.4 billion.
According to CEO Brian Kelley’s statement in the 2020 Business Plan, electrified high-speed rail is advancing in all three regions of California—the Bay Area, Central Valley, and Southern California.
In 2020, 350 miles of electrified high-speed rail is moving toward construction:
- 51 miles between San Francisco and San Jose
- 171 miles in the Central Valley
- 130 miles in Southern California connecting Las Vegas, Nevada, and San Bernardino County
In 2016, the estimated cost for the project from San Francisco to Los Angeles, according to that year’s business plan, was $64 billion. The 2018 business plan increased the cost to $77.3 billion. The latest cost increases indicated in the 2020 Business Plan are $2.5 billion for the Merced to Bakersfield section and $2 billion for the Silicon Valley to the Central Valley section, bringing the current total estimated cost to $81.8 billion.
Also, according to the 2020 Business Plan, the availability of sufficient funds presents one of the program’s toughest challenges.
“This fact will continue to affect the cost of the program as inflationary escalation is periodically added to remaining segment costs until funding has been identified for construction,” the 2020 plan states.
On May 16, 2019, the fate of the project was set back when the Federal Railroad Administration canceled a $929 million grant made in 2010. Newsom described it as a “political retribution” by President Donald Trump.
BenitoLink’s requests for comments from the Council of San Benito County Governments were not returned.
Other related BenitoLink articles:
https://benitolink.com/california-high-speed-rail-extends-public-review-period/
https://benitolink.com/high-speed-rail-meeting-in-gilroy-rescheduled/
https://benitolink.com/fate-of-california-high-speed-rail-uncertain/
https://benitolink.com/bullet-trains-and-junk-cars-on-supervisors-minds/
BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is working around the clock during this time when accurate information is essential. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.