Federal Government Approves Construction of First High Speed Rail Segment
On Wednesday the Federal Railroad Administration issued its Record of Decision for the Merced to Fresno segment of the high speed rail project. This is the final regulatory hurdle for that section, clearing the path for construction to begin in early 2013:
The Final EIR/EIS identifies the Hybrid alternative as the Agencies’ Preferred Alternative with the Downtown Merced and Mariposa Street Fresno station alternatives. While the potential impacts are analyzed in the Final EIR/EIS, identification of the preferred connection between the Merced to Fresno and San Jose to Merced section or “wye” is deferred. Similarly, no preferred alternative for the Heavy Maintenance Facility is identified at this time.