California High-Speed Rail Authority meets federal grant match requirement a year ahead of schedule

CHSRA

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has notified the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) that it has fully met its state funding match requirements for federal dollars one year ahead of schedule.

This action completes a major requirement of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding grant.

“The federal government’s investment in this transformative project has been matched, dollar for dollar, a year ahead of schedule,” said Authority Chief Financial Officer Brian Annis. “With a strong, engaged federal partner, we’re able to continue moving forward in delivering electrified high-speed rail for the people of California.”

The Authority expended the $2.5 billion in federal ARRA funding by the September 2017 statutory deadline. The funding advanced the 119-mile backbone of the state’s high-speed rail system in the Central Valley, a historically disadvantaged part of the state notorious for poor air quality.  The FRA required the Authority to match the expenditure of federal funds with state funds for qualified expenses by December 2022.

With the enactment of the new federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Authority will compete for additional federal funding necessary to advance the high-speed rail system statewide.

Currently, work is underway in the Central Valley with 35 active job sites and more than 7,000 construction jobs created to date, and in the Bay Area through Authority partner Caltrain and the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project. For the latest on construction progress visit www.buildhsr.comExternal Link.

Read more articles about high-speed rail.