Federal government terminates $175 million in funding for California's high-speed rail project
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the revocation of grants worth $175 million for California's high-speed rail project on Tuesday. In a statement, Duffy referred to the project as a "failed experiment" and labelled the affected projects as "fantasy projects."
The affected projects include a rail station in Madera, a bridge in Merced, and a project to separate roads from tracks in San Jose. Despite the withdrawal of funding, the High-Speed Rail Authority expects these projects to proceed. The Authority also anticipates beginning the laying of tracks in the Central Valley within the next year.
Duffy's statement declared, "The waste ends here," and was made in response to perceived "tired political attacks" from opponents. The opponents mentioned in the statement were not specified.
It is important to note that this revocation of grants comes a little over a month after the administration nixed $4 billion in federal funding for the project. The statement does not mention any potential impact of the revoked grants on the project's timeline or any further funding for the project.
Micah Flores, a spokesperson for the High-Speed Rail Authority, made a statement in response to the announcement. According to Flores, the Authority is confident that the project will continue to move forward. However, the statement does not provide any new information about the projects' designs or progress beyond the laying of tracks.
The revoked grants were intended to help design these affected projects. With the grants withdrawn, it remains unclear how the Authority plans to proceed with the design and construction of these critical components of the high-speed rail system.
Duffy's statement marks a significant setback for the California high-speed rail project, but it is unclear at this time what the long-term implications will be. The Authority and the Trump administration have yet to respond to questions about the project's continuation and any potential changes in its status due to these attacks.
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