California Delta Tunnels: The Project Is Flowing Along
Just a few month ago, the Delta Tunnels, dubbed the WaterFix, was sputtering due to a lack of funds and environmental hurdles. Governor Jerry Brown’s administration was forced to consider a phased-in approach that called for building one tunnel, followed by a second tunnel only if enough money became available. The tunnel project was… Read more »
Update: The Future of the California WaterFix and Delta Tunnels
After state officials said that they will press ahead with a scaled-down, $10.7-billion version of the long-planned Delta Tunnels, the massive two-tunnel project in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is still a viable option, in large part, thanks to Southern California’s most powerful water agency. The decision to pursue a one-tunnel project that… Read more »
Update: Where is the California High-Speed Rail Project Headed?
Nine years after California voters narrowly approved a nearly $10-billion bond to launch the $64-billion statewide High-Speed Rail project, residents and officials are wondering where the project is headed in 2018 and beyond. The narrative being pushed by Gov. Brown and the rail authority is that the project is making steady advances. Opponents tell a… Read more »
High-Speed Rail To Face Audit After Rising Costs
California state lawmakers approved an audit request, made by a team of bipartisan politicians, of the state’s High-Speed Rail project after the projected costs for one segment rose by nearly $3 billion. Officials aim to understand whether the statewide infrastructure plan can be completed on deadline and without more dramatic cost increases. “As a… Read more »
Delta Tunnels Could Be Scaled to a One-Tunnel Project
Faced with scarce political support and incomplete funding from water agencies in California, Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is proposing a scaled-back project to his original $17-billion proposal to build two massive tunnels under that Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that would make it easier to divert water from Northern to Southern California. Instead of two… Read more »
Charges Over Improper Subsidies Could Make Delta Tunnels Dead In The Water
Opponents of the Delta tunnels project, who have been trying to stop the project based on environmental grounds, are now trying to kill it through its financial structure. This comes just after federal auditors says $50 million in taxpayer funds were used improperly to subsidize planning in the San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts. Through… Read more »
City Gives Go Ahead to the Army Corps of Engineers to Begin Restoration
A plan to have the Army Corps of Engineers alter the Los Angeles River for the purpose of ecosystem restoration was approved by a Los Angeles City Council committee. The $8.1-million approved plan is part of the larger $1.6-billion effort to revitalize an 11-mile stretch of the river and return it from the concrete channel… Read more »
California High-Speed Rail Project Secures Critical Funds
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) secured critical funding, nearly $1.2 billion from two major sources, for a Bay Area project that is considered key to completing the $64-billion rail project — making the rail project much more likely. Thumbs up was given to the rail authority to proceed with the $2-billion Caltrain electrification… Read more »
Will the Fifth Amendment Become a Barrier to Trump’s Plan to Build a Wall?
Some 450 businesses have submitted design proposals to be a part of the controversial U.S.-Mexico wall project. Over the last few months, there has been a lot of interest and academic discussion on the feasibility of the project from a logistics perspective to an engineering perspective. As eminent domain lawyers, we’re going to focus this… Read more »
California Continues to Fund High Speed Rail After Fed’s Decision to Hold
The Federal Transit Administration’s decision to halt the funding ($647 million) for the electrification of the Caltrain — a key part of extending California’s high speed rail to the Bay area — didn’t stop the rail authority. Even though the FTA stated they needed “additional time to complete review of this significant commitment to Federal… Read more »