CHSRA Applies for $450MM in Federal Funding to Advance Merced Extension

Rendering Courtesy of CHSRA

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) on May 28 announced that it is applying for $450 million in federal funding to “advance construction and expedite important safety improvements” between Madera and Merced along the northern portion of rail line in the Central Valley.

According to CHSRA, the grant funding would help to advance construction toward the city of Merced, “a crucial portion” of high-speed rail’s 171-mile Merced to Bakersfield Central Valley segment. Of the $450 million applied for, $446 million requested from the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) FY23 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program would fund work to extend the Madera to Merced segment. Awards are expected to be announced this fall.

If awarded, this request, CHSRA says, will advance the Merced extension by:

• Constructing eight miles of the extension from Madera to Merced.
• Relocating utilities; advancing civil construction and track and systems that will connect with the 119-mile Central Valley segment already under construction.

Other costs for the project’s final design and right-of-way acquisition are being funded in part out of the $3.1 billion Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program grant awarded in 2023. The remaining $4 million applied for would expand workforce training programs for underserved students in the Central Valley through a partnership with Fresno State and also continue to fund the Central Valley Training Center in Selma (Fresno County), which to date has graduated 12 cohorts and 196 students pursuing careers in the building trades since 2020.

“Creating curriculum and learning opportunities in the rail industry here in the Central Valley where work is happening is a win-win,” said John Gregory Green, PhD, lecturer for the Department of Civil & Geomatics Engineering at Fresno State University. “Programs like the one we’re creating provide the necessary information and skills needed for this next generation to thrive, bringing significant job opportunities and economic benefits to disadvantaged communities in the region.”

“This funding is needed to prepare the next generation of skilled construction tradesmen and women for work on the high-speed rail project and other similar projects,” said Chuck Riojas, Executive Director for the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Building Trades Council. “Investing in living-wage jobs is investing in people and the families they support. It brings both immediate and long-term economic benefits to our region.”