After years of controversy, the release of the environmental impact report on the section of the California High-Speed Rail System that will connect Palmdale to Burbank, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) Board of Directors will have a public meeting to discuss whether to move forward.
The Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIR/EIS) on the section that will connect the San Fernando and Antelope valleys was made available on Friday, May 24. The report assesses potential impacts on traffic, air quality, noise, biological and aquatic resources, and more. It also includes six alternative routes that could be built, ranging from 31 to 38 miles. The board will discuss the report in meetings on June 26 and 27.
The preferred route listed in the report, dubbed SR14A, is approximately 38 miles long that crosses the Angeles National Forest and goes through Pacoima and Sun Valley before it reaches Burbank. Once completed, passengers could ride up to Palmdale from Burbank in 17 minutes; it takes more than an hour by car to travel between the two cities.
While most of the route will be underground, construction in the two neighborhoods will be above ground, which will have an impact on traffic.
“But there’s really no sense in causing any disruptions to traffic or homes or businesses in the San Fernando Valley until we’re ready to connect with a tunnel,” said Jim Patrick, director of communications for the Authority’s Southern California operations. “The most likely outcome is that we start on geotechnical work to begin tunneling because it doesn’t make any sense for us to do a bunch of work on the above-ground train crossings … unless we have something for it to connect to.”
However, it will be years before construction can begin. This section is part of a much larger project to connect San Francisco to Anaheim, with northern areas taking precedence.
“We’re building and doing the final design for the 171 miles from Merced to Bakersfield. That is our priority right now,” said Patrick. “Our CEO, Brian Kelly, has said repeatedly to lawmakers that we need funding beyond 2030, because our funding ends in 2030, in order to finish this project. Once we have some clarity from lawmakers about what’s going to happen to our funding, then we are going to be able to look at putting a timeline of when we’re going to be in Pacoima.”
To read the released Final EIR/EIS, go to https://hsr.ca.gov/programs/environmental-planning/project-section-environmental-documents-tier-2/palmdale-to-burbank-environmental-documents/.