FRESNO (KMJ) — Among protests over the amount of money spent – and suggestions that history will be paved over – California's High Speed Rail has had its official groundbreaking.
"I know there are some fearful men who want to put their head in a hole and hope reality changes", says Governor Jerry Brown. "I don't see it that way. This is a time to invest – to create thousands of jobs".
Jobs are a major part of the $68 billion mega-project. Officials at the groundbreaking Tuesday afternoon were eager to point out that they have a 30% goal for local business participation in the construction phase.
But Republican State Assemblyman for Fresno Jim Patterson says officials still don't have all the money they need to even finish the project.
"This bullet train is going to cost something like $68 billion to $70 billion. Every expert I've spoken to say it could go as high as $100 billion – and they have less than 10% of the money necessary to build the train".
But with High Speed Rail coming to Fresno – officials say they don't need it to revitalize the city. They say the development of Downtown Fresno will happen whether or not the project actually goes ahead.
"We're building a great Downtown no matter", says Fresno's Assistant Development Director Dan Zack. "The community wants it – we need it – it's viable – it's not dependent on High Speed Rail but High Speed Rail is going to help to bring Downtown back to life and making it great".
State and Federal officials – including a High Speed Rail expert from Japan – welcomed the official start of construction Tuesday afternoon – trying their best to drown out protestors.
People demonstrating outside the wire fences want the whole thing called off and the money outlined for it spent on things like education and water storage.
The first tracks are expected to be laid in less than five years – with a Merced to Burbank Airport route scheduled to start in 2022.
