California’s high-speed rail plan is advancing, just on a smaller scale.
A Kiewit Stacey Witbeck Herzog joint venture will lay the first section of tracks under an initial, scaled-back plan for California’s controversial high-speed rail project that aims to get passengers on trains sooner.
The board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority picked the JV on Monday for a 119-mile section of the project, which will help span part of the 171-mile stretch between Bakersfield and Merced, according to a news release.
The contract was the result of a $3.5 billion request for proposals from the board in November that breaks the project down into nine separate work packages. The authority is now focused on first finishing the Valley portion by 2033 for $34.76 billion on the low end, according to the Fresno Bee.
The job calls for the JV to install track, overhead contact system, train control and communications infrastructure, according to the release.
“Bringing on board the team that will build California’s high-speed rail track and systems marks the moment this program transforms from major civil construction into delivering an operating railway,” said Ian Choudri, the authority’s CEO, in the release.
At its meeting Monday, the board also formally adopted its 2026 business plan that prioritizes getting the shorter section of the project operational in California’s Central Valley before forging ahead with the ultimate goal of connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“As initiated in the 2025 Supplemental Project Update Report, rather than constructing a ‘full buildout’ for initial service, the Authority’s strategy is to right-size initial delivery to control costs and begin service sooner, and then expand infrastructure as demand grows,” the authority stated on its 2026 Business Plan site.
In order to accelerate project delivery, the authority has also directly procured long lead materials including rail, concrete ties, ballast and other components needed for track installation, according to Monday’s release.
California voters initially approved $10 billion in bonds for the high-speed rail project in 2008, when the overall initiative was estimated at $45 billion. Projected costs for the entire project have ballooned as high as $231 billion, according to the New York Post.
