High-Speed Rail Between San Jose, Central Valley Receives Final EIR Certification

[hunter]

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – High-speed rail between San Jose and the Central Valley took a step closer to becoming reality after the final environmental impact report was certified Thursday.

In a unanimous vote, the High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors approved the 90-mile section stretching from Diridon Station in San Jose to Merced.

"Today’s approval represents another major milestone and brings us one step closer to delivering high-speed rail between the Silicon Valley and the Central Valley," Authority CEO Brian Kelly said in a statement. "The Authority is poised to make the vision of high-speed rail in the Bay Area a reality."

The approval moves the project closer to being "shovel ready" once funding becomes available, officials said. Currently, construction is underway between Madera County and Bakersfield in the Central Valley.

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https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2022/04/28/high-speed-rail-san-jose-central-valley-final-eir-certification/

The quote "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other possibilities" (misattributed to Winston Churchill) comes to mind. It is taking a long, long time to get this built.

This project will be the right thing to do so long as it displaces petroleum fueled automobile traffic and short haul flights.

I'm not so concerned about the concrete required, having experienced many traffic delays as additional lanes are added to sections of Interstate 5 and Route 99. There's a lot of concrete in those as well.

If I was Emperor of Earth automobile highways wider than four lanes (two in each direction) would be outlawed. The problem with highways here in California is "if you build them they will come."

[Auggie]

1. San Jose to Merced via Gilroy

Read somewhere trip would take about an hour. Need some housing hubs near new Central Valley stations too. Affordable housing hubs.

[Demovictory9]

2. traveled the 12(?) lanes between the SFV and west LA for years. even 12 lanes wasn't enough at rush

hour