California's plans for a high-speed rail system are coming undone as indecision over routes undermines progress, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In 2012 the state rail authority decided to build the first operational segment of the $68 billion project from LA's Union Station into the Central Valley, ending well short of the final goal: a 2 hour, 40 minute trip from LA to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 2012 plan would confront the most challenging part of the route first: the rocky Tehachapi and San Gabriel Mountains just north of LA. It would also provide the first physical manifestation of the long-proposed project and give some assurance of its political survival.
Thus far, the project's only work has been "pre-construction" efforts along a 29 mile stretch between Madera and Fresno. Major construction on that segment should begin this spring.
The LA Times'
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The hope is that the north-first plan would be less risky, making it more likely that construction can begin before the project becomes politically nonviable.
California High Speed Rail
California High-Speed Rail Authority
Already the high-speed rail system has been attacked for rising costs, most notably by Republican members of the state assembly who accuse proponents of hiding the actual price of the system.
And public interest in the project is waning as well: A recent Stanford University poll found that 53% of Californians would rather their drought-riddled state spend the money on water projects.
Perhaps marking a bad omen for the project, California Gov. Jerry Brown failed to mention the effort in his State of the State speech last week, the first time he has not done so since taking office in 2012.
It's unclear where or even if service will begin. But one thing is certain: for California's high-speed rail hopes, time is the
James J. Rawls perspective of the California Dream consists of promise and paradox. People from all over move to California in hopes of finding opportunity and success. However California cannot fulfill people’s expectations.
Two railway companies competed in this venture: The Central Pacific company laid track eastward from Sacramento, California and at the same time The Union Pacific company began laying track westward from Omaha, Nebraska and when the two lines met, the transcontinental railway would be complete. Each company wanted to cover more ground than the other – not just out of pride and competitiveness, but ...
Stacey Smith draws from research that involves the issues of California’s statehood, her book Freedom’s Frontier (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2013), Smith states that the events leading up to the California’s state
Cannons boomed simultaneously in New York and San Francisco at the same moment the golden spike was hammered into the ground, connecting the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad companies at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869 (American 1). North America became the first continent to be connected by railroad from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast when the Transcontinental Railroad was finished (Gale 1). The railroad was an essential component of achieving manifest destiny. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad spurred settlement in the American West, encouraged immigration, and began an economic boom in the United States.
The transcontinental railroad was a 1,800 mile railroad linking Omaha, Missouri with Sacramento, California. This railroad was built through varying environmental conditions including grassy plains, desserts, and mountains such as the Sierra. The railroad revolutionized transportation in the nineteenth century (Galloway 4). The First Transcontinental Railroad was built in the 1860s in order to connect the Eastern and Western coasts of the United States. In the book The Railroads, statistical data describes that “In 1830, 23 miles of railroad track were being operated in the United States; by 1890 that figure had grown to 166,703 miles, as cities and villages were linked across the lan...
The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.
California represents is not as easy to attain as they once thought. The characters in The Day of the
The construction of railroads in California impacted the state physically, socially, and economically; and ultimately helped propel California into the state it is today. During a time when masses of people were migrating to California but were doing so in an inefficient, and sometimes dangerous way, the first transcontinental railroad provided a fast and easier alternative. During the 1850's and 60's California was booming as many people from across the country uprooted their lives and headed west to begin a new life and attempt to strike it rich. Covered wagons were not an ideal way of travel but were the only way to go until the railroads were constructed.
The growth of agriculture and railroads in Texas and in the United States helped form our economy today. Railroads today pass through a lot of Texas, and even in big cities like Houston or Dallas. Since there are so many farms and open farmland (especially in south and west Texas), railroads can carry the produce and livestock to their destination. James Watt invented the first steam engine in about 1769, and from then on, railroads were a must for transportation, since cars had yet to be invented. Railroads began to be built before the Civil War. It originally took about 6 months to get from the west of the US to the east, but now it only took 7 days. With railroads expanding all across the country, agriculture was affected in a mostly positive way. Now, crops and other goods could be transported by train anywhere in the US, and fast.
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
Because of the job opportunities in the West that were advertised throughout the World , many people who found themselves out of place after being freed, or having their livelihood freed, sought to take up shop and make their way to these new opportunities.
After America acquired the West, the need for efficient transportation heightened. Ideas circulated about a railroad that would spread across the continent from East to West. Republican congresses ruled for the federal funding of railroad construction, however, all actions were halted for a few years on account of a war. Following the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the race to build transcontinental railroad began in 1866. Lincoln approved Pacific Railway Act of 1862, granting two railroad companies the right to build the first American transcontinental railroad, (Clark 432).
The civic center, which was set to open May 16, 1919, will be left standing half complete and no new date has been set as to when construction will resume. If things continue to go in this direction then the civic center may never be finished. In the long run this may end up hurting the city financially. A lot of money was invested into the project in hopes that it would help make Irvine the cultural capital of Southern California which would translate into more people and more business.
Railroads in the Late 19th Century - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/riseind/railroad/
The Central Artery Tunnel Project, more commonly known as the Big Dig, is said to be the largest, most complex and technologically challenging highway project in American history. It is the culmination of decades of planning and forethought and is hoped to alleviate the traffic congestion that has plagued the Boston area since the invention of the automobile. The project incorporates a major underground highway system, a revolutionary cable-stayed bridge, and a series of impressive tunnel crossings, each a considerable feat on their own, all constructed in the midst of a bustling city.