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"Beginning construction without all of the financing in place represents a strategic gamble by the rail authority, and by Mr. Brown, that once enough work is co

"Beginning construction without all of the financing in place represents a strategic gamble by the rail authority, and by Mr. Brown, that once enough work is completed, future leaders will be loath to walk away from the project and leave a landscape of unfinished pillars, viaducts, bridges and track beds. Faced with reduced resources, the authority has altered its plans, and is now focused on finishing a 119-mile stretch of track from Bakersfield to Madera by 2022." This is political blackmail. The project is now more than twice the price what the voters approved, yet construction is continuing on disconnected bits in the easy to build flatness of Central Valley, all to make sure the construction companies and their workers have something to do. What about the environmental impact if the train is never finished? What about moving people out of the way? What about having ugly concrete columns stand for decades within a beautiful region doing nothing? Jobs, jobs, jobs, and money is the answer.

geezerjay 8y ago
> What about the environmental impact if the train is never finished? And what about the environmental impact of not building it and instead insisting in expanding highways with a dozen of lanes perpetually gridlocked by countless gas guzzlers?
- yostrovs 8y ago
  My "what if" question was about a train line that is never finished. An unfinished train line doesn't carry trains and doesn't move passengers. It doesn't decongest highways of traffic either. Its role will probably be only as a monument to a certain type of politics. On a side note, it's really hard to argue against people's limitless imaginations.
  - yostrovs 8y ago
    Now that I think about it using my endless imagination, the concrete pillars may serve as platforms for contemporary art installations. When that becomes reality, the politicians in California will be patting themselves on the back about how they turned lemons into lemonade, creating the world's largest sculpture garden. Roads will have to be built to reach the sculptures so the citizens can view them. Holes will probably be drilled into the concrete columns to provide a habitat for native birds and falcons will build nests on top. It may be a win for the environment, who knows?

geezerjay 8y ago

> What about the environmental impact if the train is never finished? And what about the environmental impact of not building it and instead insisting in expanding highways with a dozen of lanes perpetually gridlocked by countless gas guzzlers?

yostrovs 8y ago
My "what if" question was about a train line that is never finished. An unfinished train line doesn't carry trains and doesn't move passengers. It doesn't decongest highways of traffic either. Its role will probably be only as a monument to a certain type of politics. On a side note, it's really hard to argue against people's limitless imaginations.
- yostrovs 8y ago
  Now that I think about it using my endless imagination, the concrete pillars may serve as platforms for contemporary art installations. When that becomes reality, the politicians in California will be patting themselves on the back about how they turned lemons into lemonade, creating the world's largest sculpture garden. Roads will have to be built to reach the sculptures so the citizens can view them. Holes will probably be drilled into the concrete columns to provide a habitat for native birds and falcons will build nests on top. It may be a win for the environment, who knows?