California Construction News staff writer
A senior Republican lawmaker is renewing calls to scrap California’s high-speed rail project, arguing its latest business plan masks rising costs and uncertain funding.
“The nonpartisan LAO points out that the CHSRA has arbitrarily changed the scope of the program and costs, ignores specific requirements that the California State Legislature has imposed on the project, assumes significant changes in state law, and once again, dramatically changes cost estimates,” State Sen. Tony Strickland said in a statement.
A recent report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office found the authority’s draft plan lacks transparency and raises significant concerns about cost, scope and funding.
Analysts said the authority has continued to shift the project’s scope — in some cases in ways that may not align with current state law — while presenting cost estimates that are difficult to track or compare with previous plans. The report said these changes make it harder for lawmakers to assess the project’s financial outlook.
The LAO also warned the plan relies heavily on uncertain funding sources, including ongoing annual transfers from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, as well as assumptions about future federal support and policy changes that are not guaranteed.
Another key concern is the absence of a fully funded path to complete the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles system. While construction is advancing on the Central Valley segment, the report noted a substantial funding gap remains to finish even that portion, let alone the entire Phase 1 system.
The LAO concluded the business plan does not provide a clear or reliable roadmap for delivering the project and urged lawmakers to take a more cautious approach, including reconsidering oversight, funding commitments and scope.
“Overall, the CHSRA has produced a completely unrealistic business plan,” Strickland said. “This is why we need to pull the plug on this wasteful spending project because it will go down as the worst public project in world history.”
The criticism echoes concerns raised by Lou Thompson, former chair of the agency’s peer review group, who warned in a March letter to legislative leaders that the project has reached “a dead end” and faces tens of billions of dollars in funding gaps.
According to the authority, about $14 billion has already been spent on land acquisition and construction, primarily in the Central Valley. Roughly 119 miles of the planned 171-mile initial segment between Merced and Bakersfield are under active construction, with completion targeted for the early 2030s.
First approved by voters in 2008 with an estimated cost of $33 billion and a 2020 completion date, the project has undergone repeated revisions. The authority now estimates the Central Valley segment will cost about $34.8 billion, while the broader Phase 1 system could reach $126 billion. Some projections cited by critics place the total closer to $231 billion, depending on scope and financing assumptions.
“In our view, the draft plan’s approach lacks transparency,” LAO auditor Helen Kerstine told lawmakers during a recent hearing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has previously acknowledged challenges in completing the full San Francisco-to-Los Angeles corridor, shifting the state’s focus in 2019 to the Central Valley segment.
The latest plan relies in part on roughly $1 billion annually from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a funding source some lawmakers have described as uncertain.
Despite the criticism, the High-Speed Rail Authority has defended its projections, saying rising costs reflect inflation, design changes and evolving construction conditions.
The Senate Transportation Committee is expected to continue reviewing the plan as lawmakers consider whether to commit additional funding or scale back one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in California’s history.
