High Speed Rail

Authority Board Approves High-Speed Rail Line Between Bakersfield and Palmdale

According to the Antelope Valley Times, August 19, 2021, the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors approved the Final Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement for the approximately 80-mile Bakersfield to Palmdale project alignment section. The action paves the way for full California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) clearance of nearly 300 miles of the high-speed rail project’s 500-mile Phase 1 alignment from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim. The Board’s actions mark the first CEQA certification of an environmental document in the Southern California region. The Board’s certification of the Bakersfield to Palmdale Final EIR/EIS and approval of the Project Section allows the Authority to begin preconstruction work as funding becomes available. The section provides a north-south high-speed rail connection between the Central Valley and the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County, closing the passenger rail gap that currently exists between the two regions. The section is designed to accommodate a connection with the Brightline West high-speed rail project to Las Vegas. The high-speed rail project is currently under active construction in the Central Valley along 119 miles at 35 different construction sites with an average of 1,100 workers daily.

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