California Gets 37-Day Notice on High-Speed Rail Funding

Saying the California High-Speed Rail Authority "has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget," US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that the federal government might take the $4 billion back it allocated for construction of a system to connect the state's major population centers. Duffy said in a statement that a four-month review determined that California violated certain terms of its federal grant agreements, CNBC reports. The Department of Transportation gave the rail authority 37 days to respond before the process begins to end two federal grants, per the Hill.

Duffy had ordered the review by the Federal Railroad Administration in February, per E&E News. The California authority immediately argued with the findings in the 310-page report, saying they "do not reflect the substantial progress made to deliver high-speed rail in California." State officials have said before that construction on overpasses and the like has begun, though no tracks have been laid. California approved the project in 2008 with an original target of opening in 2020. Cost estimates have now topped $100 billion. The authority noted that most of the money has come from the state and that it will "correct the record" in its response to the federal government. (More high-speed rail stories.)