California's High-Speed Rail Project Faces Scrutiny Over Costs and Delays
Voters approved funding in 2008, but 18 years and over $15 billion later, no high-speed track has been laid, with environmental reviews and oversight questioned.
California's ambitious high-speed rail project, approved by voters in 2008 with the promise of connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, has accumulated over $15 billion in costs with no operational miles of track. The project, which projected the creation of over 100,000 construction jobs, is now facing criticism for its ballooning expenses and significant delays.
Eighteen years after its inception, the state has yet to lay track on the planned high-speed line. Even the initial segment intended to connect Merced and Bakersfield, slated for a 2030s opening, remains unfinished. In a video resurfaced from his time as lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom stated that the full project was unlikely to "materialize in our lifetime."
A primary driver of the project's extensive delays and costs has been the sheer volume of environmental regulations and reviews. The California High-Speed Rail Authority's website hosts over 130,000 pages of environmental-review-related materials, which have cost taxpayers more than $677 million. These extensive reviews have become a significant expense, benefiting consulting firms that supported the initial ballot measure.
These environmental reviews have led to unusual and costly requirements. Reports detail measures such as counting bumblebees individually, outlining when contractors could dismantle woodrat nests, using dogs to detect lizard scat, and allocating $119.4 million for an overhead tube to mitigate "acoustic impacts on waterfowl and shorebirds." Such measures have resulted in expensive change orders, including requests for hand-digging small burrows for mammals and conducting extensive lizard surveys.
Beyond environmental reviews, a lack of stringent oversight has also contributed to escalating costs. A November 2018 state audit found that the rail authority approved a $3 million contract amendment without independently verifying the contractor's claims, instead relying heavily on the contractor's own request. In June 2018, the authority unanimously approved amendments totaling over $142 million.
The project's financial landscape has also been shaped by campaign donations. Three major contractors—HNTB, AECOM Tech, and Parsons Brinckerhoff (now part of WSP)—were significant donors to the 2008 ballot measure supporting the high-speed rail funding. These firms have also contributed substantial amounts to California Democrats and their campaigns, including contributions to gubernatorial campaigns for Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown. Notably, Ian Choudri, a former HNTB employee, now serves as the chief executive of the high-speed rail project.
These contractors have collectively earned millions for their environmental review services. AECOM, WSP, HNTB, and Parsons Brinckerhoff received $38 million, $61 million, $86 million, and $101 million, respectively, for high-speed rail environmental reviews.
California voters were initially promised a high-speed rail system capable of traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours. The current reality is a project facing significant cost overruns and delays, with the prospect of a train transfer and extended bus travel between Bakersfield and Los Angeles. The primary beneficiaries appear to be the consulting firms that supported the project's initial funding, with the project serving as a conduit for financial distribution rather than efficient public transportation.