CA High-Speed Rail - Never Built

Sacramento High-speed Rail Station - conceptual illustrations 2008

Yesterday Governor Gavin Nuwsom pulled the plug on California’s High-Speed Rail but the Central Valley segment from Bakersfield to Merced (110 miles) would be completed. Thus far, California has spent $5.4 billion on what is considered the easy stretch of the CA train. In 2008 we were also told that private money would come beating down the door once the project got underway, but you can imagine that the current expectation of private investment in the train is now nothing more than a pipe dream.

We can mark this failed project as Never Built, Merced to Bakersfield is more of a monument to mismanagement and foolish ideas.

A little history, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) in 1996  was established to begin formal planning in preparation for a ballot measure in 1998 or 2000. In 2008 voters approved a $10 billion bond to begin funding the project with construction beginning in 2016. Since 2008 the project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. The cost to build phase one from San Francisco to Los Angeles has exploded from what we were told it cost in 2008 of about $39 billion, in 2012 it went up to $68 billion and to the most current projection is estimated at $100 billion.

The biggest scam in this project was how it was marketed and sold to the voters with no realistic funding source for the remainder of the project beyond Bakersfield to Merced. It was also a bait and switch teasing both Sacramento and San Diego with future extensions just to obtain votes. What we have now is billions of dollars wasted that could have been used productively elsewhere.

The Food Factory

A rendering of The Food Factory, which is projected to open by 2020

Alkali Flat looks to be in the planning stages for a commercial kitchen and food business incubator. Comstock Magazine reports that the project has been in the works for three years with a target opening date of 2020. The 35,000 sf industrial block at 1425 C Street in downtown Sacramento.

The block is not currently outfitted for food and beverage manufacturing. Its mentioned in the article that millions of dollars in big improvements would be needed as well as a big tenant with money and concrete plans to pay for building the kitchen, safety features and other big improvements.

The Food Factory would also host events for the public that features members products as well as music and other entertainment.