Inflation, added scope of work and the need for additional contingency funds have added just over $2 billion to the price of an ongoing high-speed rail line project in California, according to the agency that oversees it, and questions remain over funding for future planned segments.
Members of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) board voted March 16 to increase the project expenditure authorization from $17.9 billion to $20 billion. The agency is leading ongoing work to build 119 miles of high-speed rail line in California’s Central Valley. This effort has been spread between four construction packages awarded to three contractor teams, and has ambitions for more, most immediately including plans to extend that line into a 171-mile route between Merced and Bakersfield.