California mocked over $11 billion high-speed rail bridge that took 9 years to build, leads nowhere
NEW DELHI: The California High Speed Rail Authority is facing criticism for celebrating the completion of a high-speed rail bridge that has cost taxpayers $11 billion and took nine years to construct, despite the fact that it appears to lead nowhere.
Critics such as Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, and Billy Markus, the creator of Dogecoin, are ripping the authority after it boasted about last year’s completion of a “Fresno River Viaduct,” a mere part of the state’s long-delayed, bullet-train project attempting to link San Francisco to Los Angeles, the New York Post reported.
The creator of the jokey cryptocurrency, Markus, who also goes by the pseudonym “Shibetoshi Nakamoto,” sarcastically remarked in a post on X, “This is the most remarkable human achievement ever.”
“1600 feet of high speed rail after 9 years and 11 billion dollars it takes about 5 minutes to walk 1600 feet so a high speed rail for that is a really big deal. California is so competent” he said.
Musk, on the other hand, simply posted a sad, crying emoji to convey his sentiments about the boondoggle, which is reportedly at risk of being scrapped.
This is happening even though $11 billion of taxpayers’ money have already been invested in the high-speed rail project connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.
This sum includes expenses for the bridge and other developments invested in the first phase of the high-speed route, which spans from Bakersfield, north of Los Angeles, to Merced, approximately 80 miles from the Bay Area.
The critics were responding to an earlier post by the rail authority, in which they proudly announced that the Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County is one of the “first completed high-speed rail structures.”
The authority in a post on X said, “At nearly 1,600 feet long, high-speed trains will travel over the riverbed and will run parallel with the BNSF Railroad.”
In response to reports estimating the total cost of completing the rail line at around $100 billion, Markus fired back, saying, “wow so impressive, can’t wait until year 2400 for this to finish for 700 quadrillion dollars.”
According to New York Post, Venture Capitalist Patrick Blumenthal suggested that the authority should refrain from self-praise, sharing a detailed breakdown highlighting the lack of progress made by the rail-line project.
“0.3 miles completed. After 15 years. After $11.2 BILLION. $36.96 billion per mile,” Patrick wrote on X.
For more news like this visit TOI. Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes