A project to extend California’s railroad by six miles could end up costing more than NASA’s Mars mission.
California’s plan to extend the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rail system to San Jose and Santa Clara calls for adding six miles of new track, with an expected cost of about $4.4 billion to $12.75 billion. It’s swollen. according to Into the San Jose spotlight. By comparison, the cost of NASA’s planned Mars sample return mission is currently estimated at $11 billion, up from $8 billion. according to Go to ABC News.
The BART extension project was originally expected to be operationally ready by 2026, but that schedule has been pushed back by 10 years. according to In the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to increased labor and construction costs, inflation is also one of the main factors causing budget overruns. (Related: California spends more than $600 million on environmental review of yet-to-be-built high-speed rail)
California’s high-speed rail won’t be built, but it’s putting money into union coffers https://t.co/i0JToMFKUl
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 17, 2024
Meanwhile, NASA’s $8 billion to $11 billion Mars Sample Return program will send robots into space to collect samples of Mars’ soil, geology, and atmosphere and bring them back to Earth for analysis. according to To NASA. The effort has been pushed back beyond its original target date of 2027 or 2028, with 2033 now considered more realistic, ABC News said.
Other public transportation already connects San Jose, Santa Clara and San Francisco. according to In the Wall Street Journal. According to the Chronicle, taxpayers have already approved three tax measures to cover some of the project costs.
The BART extension project is not the only rail project in California that has struggled to stay on time and on budget. The state is working on a massive high-speed rail project linking Southern California to the Bay Area, but progress in actually laying the track has been limited since voters first approved bonds to finance it. Despite this, the project’s budget more than tripled in 2008. according to Go on a construction dive.
The bond financing originally approved by voters in 2008 was worth $33 billion, but the project’s cost has since ballooned to $128 billion, according to ConstructionDive. Among other things, the difficulty of navigating complex regulations, the difference in authority between local and state governments, and the lack of human capital are contributing factors to the Shinkansen’s difficulties.
California is also involved in a multibillion-dollar high-speed rail project linking the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas, Nevada, with support from the Biden administration. The line only serves Rancho Cucamonga, a small California city located about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.
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