NEWS RELEASE: High-Speed Rail Authority and Kings County Reach Important Agreements

Aug 15 2019 | Sacramento

Today, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) and Kings County Board of Supervisors announced that they have signed three major agreements that will clear the way for substantial progress on California’s high-speed rail program in Kings County in the Central Valley.

“Now is the time for Kings County to come together with the Authority to settle disputes and to signal a new phase of cooperation,” said Supervisor Doug Verboon. “With our agreements in place, the high-speed rail project can move forward, and we can continue to protect the interests of the people of Kings County.”

“Today’s agreements represent a new day for the high-speed rail project and demonstrate the willingness of both sides to put past issues aside and work together towards constructive solutions to move the high-speed rail project forward,” said Authority CEO Brian Kelly. “We will continue to work closely with Kings County now and into the future to bring clean, electrified high-speed rail to the Valley and the state.”

The Authority and the Kings County Board have reached a settlement that will result in the dismissal of the final pending California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit against the Authority for the Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). The Final EIR/EIS for the Fresno to Bakersfield section of the high-speed rail project was adopted in 2014 and identified the high-speed rail route from Fresno to Bakersfield.

The Authority and the Kings County Board also signed cooperative agreements related to coordinating ongoing construction efforts in Kings County, and the maintenance of several grade-separation projects crossing Kings County roadways.

The work being done in Kings County is located within Construction Package 2/3, an approximately 65-mile construction area that stretches from East American Avenue in Fresno County to one mile north of the Tulare/Kern County line. High-speed rail construction is happening on over 119 miles in the Central Valley. There are currently more than 300 certified small businesses working to build the Central Valley segment, and to date, nearly 3,000 construction workers have been dispatched to the project.