Expensive new California railroad may be delayed

Posted by IronPlanet on Feb 29, 2012 4:49:00 AM

A $6 billion high-speed railroad project in California has hit a major snag that could throw off the timing of the entire operation, reports The Fresno Bee.

Everything appeared to be moving smoothly with the expensive and ambitious high-speed rail project in San Joaquin Valley. The 520-mile electric train would run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and later extend to Sacramento and San Diego. The federal government stepped in and provided half the funds for the project, on the condition that it was finished by September 2017, according to The Fresno Bee.

However, numerous delays to the start have put the existing timetable in jeopardy. The plan was to start in September of this year, but objections have been raised to the Fresno-to-Bakersfield part of the track. Several environmental concerns have been brought to light, such as the fact that the track runs through farmland.

Now, officials are saying that they hope to start construction by the end of the year. Although that would violate the date that the federal government set to start the project, it may be necessary in order to ensure all concerns are taken care of beforehand.

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Topics: Construction, Industry Headlines