A controversial construction project is moving forward in California, as transportation officials have approved a $103 million contract for construction of a commuter train between Marin and Sonoma, reports the Marin Independent Journal.
The contract was awarded to the construction firm Stacy and Witbeck, which will work on track, bridges, station platforms and more. The company says they will be using local companies in subcontract work in an effort to stimulate the local economy.
"We are very experienced in this type of work; it's all we do - transportation construction," George Furnanz, chief operations officer for Stacy and Witbeck, told the news source. "Local [business] participation is important to Marin and Sonoma and it is important to us. We have a lot of local [subcontractors] and suppliers."
However, the project is somewhat controversial due to the transportation board's alleged history of spending more taxpayer dollars than they originally intend. Critics say transportation projects in the past have ended up going over what the original budget was planned.
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