Feds approve $2.5 billion in bonds for Brightline West high-speed Las Vegas rail project

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·3 min read
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The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced the approval of $2.5 billion in private activity bonds authority allocated for the Brightline West high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced the approval of $2.5 billion in private activity bonds authority allocated for the Brightline West high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the approval of $2.5 billion in private activity bonds authority for the Brightline West high-speed rail project.

The money will be used to lay tracks, create jobs, and "connect American cities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday.

“President Biden’s historic infrastructure package gives us the opportunity to build safe, green, and accessible rail systems that will deliver benefits to the American people for generations to come,” Buttigied said.

The 218-mile high-speed rail line, with stops in Las Vegas, Apple Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, will primarily run along the Interstate 15 median. Trains capable of reaching 186 mph or more will cut the trip between Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga to two hours – half the time to travel by car, the company said.

Brightline West’s $12 billion high-speed rail project will be a fully electric, zero-emission system to become one of the greenest forms of transportation in the U.S.

The project is expected to bolster tourism, create 35,000 paying jobs, ease traffic on I-15, and cut more than 400,000 tons of carbon pollution each year.

Connecting cities

The Department of Transportation previously approved a private activity bond allocation of $1 billion for Brightline West in 2020, bringing the total allocation for this project to $3.5 billion.

In December, the department also awarded a $3 billion grant from President Biden’s infrastructure law to the Nevada Department of Transportation for this project.

In June, the department awarded a $25 million grant to San Bernardino County Transportation Authority through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Program that will be used for the construction of the Brightline West stations in Hesperia and Apple Valley.

“Brightline West will serve as the blueprint for connecting cities with fast, eco-friendly passenger rail throughout the country,” Brightline Founder Wes Edens said. “Connecting Las Vegas and Southern California will provide wide-spread public benefits to both states, creating thousands of jobs and jumpstarting a new level of economic competitiveness for the region."

To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced nearly $31 billion to be used for the nation’s rail system. This is the most significant investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak, according to transportation department officials.

The investments include the new Railroad Crossing Elimination program grants and Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grants announced last year.

Worker recruitment

Earlier this month, the Department of Labor recently met with trade unions of Nevada and California to discuss the possible hiring of nearly 11,000 workers to begin building 218 miles of rail by summer.

Nearly 3,000 construction and trade workers are expected to be hired within Southern Nevada, according to Vince Saavedra, executive secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building Trades Unions.

The worker will be responsible for the roughly 50-mile portion of the Brightline West project from Las Vegas Boulevard at Warm Springs to the California border.

Saavedra said recruitment will begin with apprenticeship programs, workforce connections and other programs to help prisoners transition into employment.

There was no timeline on the hiring of workers for the nearly 168-mile stretch of rail from state line to Rancho Cucamonga, the company said.

A spokesperson for California Building Trades said work will start “soon” at multiple sites at once. The work will eventually meet up with Nevada crews.

The goal is for completion by summer 2028, in time for the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz 

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Feds approve $2.5 billion in private bonds for Brightline West project