The future is coming......fast.
One of the most ambitious projects in the U.S.
breaks ground tomorrow in Fresno, CA:
Traveling faster than a Ferrari at 220 miles per hour, the bullet train will slash in half the six-hour drive from northern to southern California. The multibillion-dollar project is due to run bullet trains from the Los Angeles basin to the San Francisco Bay area in the 2020s.
The project is expected to bring new jobs and
new union membership to the Golden State:
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has already negotiated a comprehensive "construction careers" program with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, one that guarantees access to apprenticeship programs for disadvantaged and unemployed workers, prioritizing those from the state's poorest areas, including Fresno and the Central Valley.
The program was modeled after one developed by L.A.'s Metro in 2011 that has put thousands of disadvantaged people into union apprenticeship programs. Those who finish are prepared for permanent careers as electricians, pipe fitters or sheet-metal workers. The high-speed rail construction careers program will similarly train thousands of Californians and then put them to work designing and constructing the rail line.
Of course, the massive project is not without
controversy:
In fact, Kathy Omachi with Chinatown Revitalization, Inc., said Tuesday's groundbreaking is the beginning of the end for her community.
"We will not survive this project," she said.
Omachi points out the project is going to block off Chinatown's streets and force the demolition of many buildings in the neighborhood.
Here's to hoping California can work it out and complete the project without disrupting too many neighborhoods and businesses. It has the potential to be a powerful model for the rest of the country.