LOS ANGELES (KMJ) Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy blasted California’s “failing” high-speed rail project on Thursday, calling it a “waste of taxpayers’ money”.
During a news conference in Los Angeles’ Union Station, Duffy eviscerated the controversial project – and its leadership. “It was going to be done by 2020, and it was going to cost $33 billion… and people were excited,” Duffy said. “Where are we today? Well, today, we are severely – no pun intended – off track.”
The Trump appointee then went after Gov. Newsom’s “gross mismanagement” of the project and said they are reassessing whether the project will continue to be funded.
This comes after President Trump recently criticized the project, vowing to investigate what he called the “worst managed project” he’s ever seen.
The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially supposed to cost $33 billion. The latest estimate for the entire project is now $106 billion — more than three times the original cost estimate.
Now, the federal government will conduct a compliance review to determine how federal assistance has been used on the state’s long-delayed project.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer issued the following statement after Duffy’s fiery appearance: “I appreciate the concerns of the Trump Administration on High-Speed Rail and share many of those same concerns as it pertains to the significant delays and severe cost overruns on this project. The federal government has the absolute right to conduct an audit to ensure every taxpayer dollar contributed to HSR is being spent in an efficient and appropriate manner. I continue to support high-speed rail, regardless of who builds it, as long as it connects the Central Valley to the California economy”.
“We appreciate Secretary Duffy’s attention to this blatant example of government waste and mismanagement,” said Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). “The people of the state of California were lied to, they were told this was going to be a $33 billion project and that we would be on a high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just over 2 hours, yet there is not any track connected. It’s time for California to reexamine its priorities and stop wasting federal taxpayer funds, focusing on vital needs like wildfire protection, natural disaster response, and water infrastructure.”
“What should you do with this project? Why is it costing so much money? What’s going on? Those are questions that should be asked by the media. The public should know there is no time frame to get a high-speed rail from LA to San Francisco. You should know that. And that’s the decision you all have to make as a state,” Duffy said.
Listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
