CHSRA Meets Federal Grant Match—Early

Written by David C. Lester, Engineering Editor and Editor-in-Chief, Railway Track & Structures
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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has notified the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) 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, CHSRA reported on Jan. 6.

CHSRA expended the $2.5 billion in federal ARRA funding by the September 2017 statutory deadline. That 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. FRA required CHSRA to match the federal funding expenditure with state funds for qualified expenses by December 2022.

CHSRA Chief Financial Officer Brian Annis

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

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

Currently, work is under way in the Central Valley, and in the Bay Area through CHSRA partner Caltrain and the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project.

In other developments, CHSRA in November released the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the approximately 14-mile Burbank-to-Los Angeles Project Section in southern California, moving CHSRA one step closer to approving its fourth environmental document in two years.

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