Infrastructure

California utilities want billion-dollar charger buildout

California’s utility companies have unveiled a plan to allocate $1 billion to a statewide charging station program, designed to meet the state’s rigorous emissions standards and extend the reach of electric and hybrid vehicles throughout the state. “Three major

New report: CA high-speed rail faces 50 percent cost overruns

Steven Greenhut January 17, 2017

SACRAMENTO – California’s ongoing “high-speed rail” project connecting Los Angeles with San Francisco continues to run up against the same, recurring problem since voters gave the plan initial bond funding in a 2008 statewide initiative. There’s a growing chasm between

CA Democrats want higher fees and taxes for state infrastructure

James Poulos December 14, 2016

Sharing in a new emerging consensus in favor of substantial infrastructure spending, California Democrats have teed up the policy for early action in 2017, triggering renewed debate over the wisdom of funding the effort through significant new transportation-related fees and

Union battles Caltrans over “inadequate” new office space, $1.7 million partitions

Matt Fleming September 19, 2016

A public employees’ union is questioning Caltrans’ pricey decision to move one of its district offices from one side of Orange County to the other, noting the high cost of new cubicle partitions and the lack of space to accommodate new

High speed rail pushed back 4 more years

James Poulos May 26, 2016

Falling short even of some critics’ expectations, California’s beleaguered high-speed rail was dealt another blow to its credibility as the state’s biggest and most ambitious infrastructure project, with news emerging that the federal government signed off on a massive reschedule that

High-Speed Rail Authority wins time in case brought by landowners

Kathy Hamilton April 2, 2016

A judge has denied a claim filed by opponents of California’s high-speed rail project, saying that while they raised compelling questions about the project’s viability, the project has not progressed enough for the court to evaluate their claims. The March

Proposed pilot program could replace Caltrans with counties

Matt Fleming March 30, 2016

Caltrans is on notice: A new bill looks at a life where counties would fix roads themselves. Responding to years of mismanagement and voter frustration with state roads, coupled with successful transportation programs administered in his home county, Sen. John Moorlach

SoCal support for bullet train wavers

James Poulos March 30, 2016

California’s beleaguered high-speed rail project has hit yet another speed bump: a loss of confidence among Southern California officials already left hanging by plans that shifted first-stage construction northward. “The California rail authority’s failure to identify a source of funding

Measure diverting bullet train funds for water storage hits money shortage, eyes 2018

Matt Fleming March 27, 2016

Proponents of a ballot initiative that would divert high-speed rail funds to water storage projects announced on Friday that the cost of signature gathering was too great for the November ballot and set its sights on 2018 instead. The measure would

Bullet-train route change doesn’t win over many

Chris Reed March 21, 2016

Trying to build fresh momentum in Southern California, the California High-Speed Rail Authority last week unveiled major changes in the proposed bullet-train route meant to limit disruption to poor communities in the San Fernando Valley. But the reaction wasn’t as