California mocked over $11 billion high-speed bridge that leads to 'nowhere'

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Several people, including Tesla founder Elon Musk and Dogecoin creator Billy Markus, have mocked the California High-Speed Rail Authority after it proudly announced the completion of the "Fresno River Viaduct" last year.

The Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County. (Image: California High Speed Rail)

New Delhi,UPDATED: May 6, 2024 03:05 IST

The state government of California is under scrutiny for its celebration of the completion of a high-speed rail bridge. A project that has cost taxpayers over 11 billion US Dollars, and took nine years for its construction, seems to lead nowhere.

Several people, including Tesla founder Elon Musk and Dogecoin creator Billy Markus, have mocked the California High-Speed Rail Authority after it proudly announced the completion of the "Fresno River Viaduct" last year, a small segment of the state's long-delayed bullet train project aimed at connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Elon Musk took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) and expressed disappointment with a sad, crying emoji about the project, which reportedly faces the possibility of cancellation.

On the other hand, Billy Markus said in his X post, "This is the most remarkable human achievement ever."

"1,600 feet of high-speed rail after 9 years and 11 billion dollars. It takes about 5 minutes to walk 1,600 feet, so a high-speed rail for that is a really big deal," he added.

The money spent on the project includes the bridge and other infrastructure for the first phase of the high-speed route, which stretches from Bakersfield, north of Los Angeles, to Merced, approximately 80 miles from the Bay Area.

Critics responded to an earlier post by the rail authority, praising the completion of the Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County as one of the "first completed high-speed rail structures."

"At nearly 1,600 feet long, high-speed trains will travel over the riverbed and will run parallel with the BNSF Railroad," the authority stated.

Images posted by the authority reveal the bridge connected to nothing at either end, prompting some to argue it symbolizes the broader issues plaguing the project.

Reacting to reported estimates suggesting the completion of the rail line could cost taxpayers about 100 billion US Dollars, Markus fired back, sarcastically remarking, "Wow, so impressive. Can't wait until the year 2400 for this to finish for 700 quadrillion dollars."

According to the New York Post, Venture capitalist Patrick Blumenthal suggested the authority should reconsider patting itself on the back, highlighting the lack of progress made on the rail-line project.

"0.3 miles completed. After 15 years. After $11.2 BILLION. $36.96 billion per mile," he wrote on X.

Published By:

Sahil Sinha

Published On:

May 5, 2024