LOS ANGELES-As momentum continues to build on the nation’s largest infrastructure project, the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board is moving ahead with studying a range of alternatives on everything from track alignments to station designs to ensure that California’s high-speed rail system is ultimately the best one possible. Known as “alternatives analysis,” the process has produced reports today that reflect feedback from nearly 800 meetings with residents, community leaders, local officials and more.
More than two years ago, the Authority Board made the alternatives analysis process a public one, to gather maximum community input prior to the draft environmental impact reports. The alternatives analysis reports analyze potential track alignments, track designs and possible station locations to determine which options call for further study and which options raise too many impacts, environmental concerns or are otherwise too unfeasible to continue considering.
At this week’s California High-Speed Rail Authority Board meeting in Los Angeles, board members approved a preliminary alternatives analysis for the Los Angeles-to-San Diego section, heard an update on the Los Angeles-to-Anaheim section and approved a supplemental alternatives analysis report from the Palmdale-to-Los Angeles section. These analyses set the framework for the next level of design, engineering and environmental analysis, which build toward the draft environmental impact reports for each section—a major milestone for any major infrastructure project, according to a prepared statement.
“We are building a statewide system that will connect Southern California’s growing population, through the Central Valley, to the major populations in the Bay Area,” says Curt Pringle, chairman of the Authority Board. “To build the best statewide system possible, it is critical that we engage communities in the planning process to allow us to fulfill the promise of the job creation and economic stimulus benefits that this historic project will bring for decades. We look forward to building on those partnerships.”
While the technical team continues to study the entire section of Palmdale, CA to Los Angeles, the Board took action only on the southern portion, from historic Los Angeles Union Station to Sylma, CA. The Board approved continued study of three alignments coming out of Union Station. The Board also approved further study of the potential locations for an interim station in the San Fernando Valley area, including Burbank at Buena Vista Street near the airport, Branford Street in the city of Los Angeles, and in the city of San Fernando.
The Preliminary Alternatives Analysis report for the section of L.A. to San Diego via the Inland Empire section is the culmination of more than two years of working with communities and local officials on a segment that is 170 miles long. The report is the first official document that begins to refine potential alignments and track design. The Authority’s technical team started by considering some 500 miles before culling the section to 290 miles of refined alternatives that will see further review. The Board also approved reducing the number of stations being reviewed from 24 to 13, identifying the San Diego International Airport as the southern-most terminus of the system.
The report calls for a wide range of options through East Los Angeles, continued review of the I-10 and SR-60 alignments through the San Gabriel Valley, dropping the Union Pacific Railroad from consideration in that sub region, with continued review for station options in El Monte, West Covina and Pomona. In addition to the Ontario Airport station, the report also calls for continued study of station options in San Bernardino, continued study of both the I-215 and I-15 through Riverside and the removal of several alignment options in the San Diego area due to environmental and constructability concerns in Carroll Canyon, Rose Canyon and along the SR-56 and I-15.
While the initial construction of the 800-mile system is set to begin in the Central Valley, the Authority has called for a phased approach, one that could bring service sooner than otherwise, to implementing high-speed rail into this dense and technically complicated area. Authority staff has identified areas for further study in the phased approach that bring potential for creating early investment opportunities for the corridor and enhancing mobility and safety for the region. Over the next year, this new concept will be more fully examined through technical study and coordination with local transportation agencies, regional planning organizations, local cities and the public to determine the best way to improve existing rail services while preparing the LOSSAN Corridor for the complete project.
To read past GlobeSt.com stories about the project, click here.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
