President Joe Biden's administration has restored nearly $1 billion in funding for a California high-speed rail project.
California's project to build the nation’s first high-speed rail system was beset by extensive delays and rising costs and in May 2019, former President Donald Trump pulled funding, reportedly calling the project a "disaster."
In response, the State of California and California High-Speed Rail Authority filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging that the termination of funding for the project was illegal on the grounds that it was "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law."
On June 10, Biden's administration reached a settlement with the plaintiffs and restored funding for the rail project.
“The U.S. Department of Transportation and the State of California have reached a final settlement to resolve the litigation over the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) termination of its Fiscal Year 2010 Cooperative Agreement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA),” Brian Kelly, High-Speed Rail Authority's CEO, told the Northern California Record. “This settlement agreement follows intensive negotiations between the parties and reflects the federal government’s ongoing partnership in the development of high-speed rail. It also underscores CHSRA’s commitment to deliver this transformative infrastructure project.”
The California High-Speed Rail project is under construction along 119 miles in the Central Valley with more than 35 active construction sites and an average of 1,100 workers a day on the various job sites. Restoration of this grant will help complete the initial operating segment of the nation’s first high-speed rail system.
"The department is excited about reestablishing this important relationship with the State of California and is committed to fulfilling its oversight responsibilities," Kelly said. "This settlement is an important step in advancing an economically transformational project in California.”