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Commenter calls California High‑Speed Rail 'wasteful,' urges redirecting federal funds to SR‑99 and I‑5
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Summary
A public commenter at an unspecified meeting criticized the California High‑Speed Rail project as wasting billions of dollars and urged officials to redirect federal funds to State Route 99 and Interstate 5 to support critical supply‑chain corridors.
A public commenter criticized the California High‑Speed Rail project at a public meeting, saying the line “starts at a field out North of Bakersfield and ends in a field South of Merced” and “it's wasting, billions of dollars,” and urging officials to redirect federal funds to State Route 99 and Interstate 5.
The commenter said federal money pulled back from the high‑speed rail project should be used for “truly needed transportation projects in California, such as expanding the State Route 99 or Interstate 5, critical supply chain corridors in California.”
The remarks were made during public comment; no vote, motion or staff directive related to the high‑speed rail project was recorded on the meeting record provided. The speaker did not identify a specific mechanism or agency to carry out the redirection of federal funds.
The commenter also framed the project’s footprint in geographic terms, saying it "starts at a field out North of Bakersfield and ends in a field South of Merced," and characterized the project’s spending as “wasting, billions of dollars.” Those assertions were presented as opinion during public comment and were not accompanied by supporting documents or a formal staff presentation at the meeting.
No formal response or action was recorded during the meeting to alter funding allocations for the California High‑Speed Rail project, or to initiate studies about redirecting federal funds to state highway work.
For context, the speaker contrasted high‑speed rail with state highway routes they characterized as supply‑chain priorities; the meeting record does not show discussion of any specific proposal, cost estimate or timeline for work on State Route 99 or Interstate 5 arising from the comment.
