California mocked over ‘billion-dollar’ bridge to nowhere | U.S. News

Authorities in the US have long planned a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail project which is expected to cost over $100bn, but critics have claimed they have very little to show for it – apart from a 0.3-mile bridge that goes nowhere.

Authorities in California have been mocked about a “billion-dollar” bridge to nowhere.

The state government of California has long planned for a Los Angeles to San Francisco high-speed rail project.

Despite initial funding being approved back in 2008, the line is still a long way off and expected to cost over $100bn in total.

So far, construction has only begun on the earliest phase and further funding has been used on environmental planning ahead in the Phase I System.

However, the California High-Speed ​​Rail Authority recently published one of the completed sections of construction – finished back in 2018 and reported to cost $1bn on its own.

This is a 0.3-mile stretch of bridge, called The Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County, and it has attracted ridiculous for going from nowhere to nowhere.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump: ‘Real men wear diapers’
Spacey denies new claims of inappropriate behavior
Man charged in 1966 murder after DNA breakthrough

Pictures shared by the authority of the bridge show it connected to nothing at either end with some claiming it is indicative of the wider project.

It runs above a road and close to a number of houses – parallel to another rail track – but currently serves no purpose.

Elon Musk poked fun at the recent X post of the construction, with the billionaire posting a crying emoji in response to news of the project.

Others waded in as well on social media.

However, a number of those critics making false claims of the viaduct, its cost and time it took to complete it.

Since it was finished six years ago, after three years of construction, dozens more structures have been completed and there are over a hundred miles in active construction across the project.

Due to the vast scale of high-speed rails, they are often complex, expensive and lengthy projects – with the California High Speed ​​Rail being no different.

The rail would come into use some time in the early 2030s but scrapping it reportedly remains a possibility.

California High Speed ​​Rail has been contacted for comment.