AP Exclusive: Calif. high-speed rail cost soars

[alp227]

Source: Associated Press

(08-09) 05:01 PDT Sacramento, Calif. (AP) --

The estimated cost of California's high-speed rail project is rising by billions of dollars.

Environmental impact studies released Tuesday and obtained in advance by The Associated Press put the cost of building the initial segment at anywhere from $10 billion to $13.9 billion.

That's sharply higher than the $7.1 billion estimate from 2009 for the Merced-to-Bakersfield section. Rail board executives say the higher costs include more elevated tracks in the Central Valley and more specific data about property values.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/09/state/n050110D79.DTL

[still_one]

1. Infrastructure construction, whether it be the HS rail project, or fixing roads and sewers creates

jobs. During the Great Depression the Hoover Damm, Empire State Building, bridges, highways were built which not only helped with the unemployment, but helped pull us out of the depression

The problem is today Congress is so deadlocked, nothing can get done, and the only thing they are willing to spend money on is fighting wars

[AndyTiedye]

2. Surely If Wars Really Were the Economic Stimulus they are Claimed to be…

…our economy should be really booming right now, shouldn't it? We're in 3 of them already.

[AngryAmish]

8. Japan certainly built their way out of their lost decade...

[slackmaster]

3. OMG, who could possibly have seen that coming!

:sarcasm:

[and-justice-for-all]

4. It is worth every damn dime...

unlike the middle east occupations.

[DonCoquixote]

5. Just remember to thank Rick Scott

since that rail would have been in florida if he did not refuse the money.

[BigDemVoter]

6. How many high speed rail projects could we have paid

for if we had used the $$ used in Iraq & Afghanistan & NOT waged war there? I would venture that we could have fixed SS, Medicare, AND paid for several high speed rail projects with ONLY the $$ from the wars. I'm so fucking tired of hearing how broke we are when we can somehow ALWAYS find $$ for goddamned military projects!

[BR_Parkway]

7. Property values? I'm sure they've jumped since they started planning

this