Despite the California high-speed rail project being scaled down to a more manageable — and cheaper — scale, the agency governing the project still had to deliver bad news to California lawmakers on Wednesday via its latest project update.
The 119-mile Merced-to-Bakersfield (Central Valley) line, previously estimated to cost between $16 billion and $18 billion, now has a $20.4 billion price tag. Those costs, said California High-Speed Rail Authority board chair Lenny Mendonca in the report, could rise in the future in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
