California’s high-speed rail project is one step closer to reality after officials approved the contract to begin laying tracks.
The board selected an American led consortium of Kiewit, Stacy Witbeck and Herzog to install the electrified track, overhead power system, train controls and communications infrastructure along the 119 mile segment under construction in the Central Valley.
Track installation is expected to begin later this year from the Southern Railhead in Kern County, which will serve as the staging and distribution hub for materials.
The contract marks the transition from major civil construction to building an operating railway capable of speeds up to 220 mph, according to the authority.
The work will cover the 119 mile Central Valley segment and eventually extend into future expansions north to Merced and south to Bakersfield.
Construction is underway on 171 miles of the high-speed rail system between Merced and Bakersfield.
The authority said more than 80 miles of guideway have been completed, along with 60 major structures, while environmental review has been completed for 463 of the planned 494 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim.
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The authority said the project has created nearly 19,200 jobs during construction, most of them filled by Central Valley residents.