California High-Speed Rail: On the Fast Track

The California High-Speed Rail Authority announced this week that USDOT has awarded California $300 million in supplemental high speed rail ("HSR") funding, bringing the state's total dedicated HSR funding to $6.33 billion. California, which has received approximately 40% of all federal HSR funds to date, intends to begin construction in 2012 on what will eventually become an 800-mile statewide HSR system, stretching from Sacramento in the north to San Diego in the south, with this massive infrastructure project funded through a combination of state bonds, federal funding, and public-private partnerships.