LAS VEGAS — Members of Congress from Nevada and California are backing Nevada’s effort to land federal funding for the Brightline West high speed rail project, writing U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to express “strong support” for the state’s grant application.
Brightline West and the Nevada Department of Transportation applied for up to $3.75 billion in Federal-State Partnership Program funds last week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Private funding, including private activity bonds, would provide the rest of the money for a project projected to cost up to $12 billion.
The bipartisan effort includes all six of Nevada’s federal legislators: U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) and Jacky Rosen (D), as well as Reps. Mark Amodei (R), Steven Horsford (D), Susie Lee (D), and Dina Titus (D). They are joined by four members of the California congressional delegation: Reps. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D), John Garamendi (D), Jimmy Gomez (D) and Jay Obernolte (R).
The letter signed by the 10 legislators says “Brightline West will serve as a powerful example of the possibilities of high-speed rail for other cities and regions” and will help advance the federal DOT goals regarding infrastructure investments, job creation, equity, and sustainability.
It also cites the economic impacts of the project, through job creation and tax revenue, as well as serving to boost local travel and tourism, and asks that the federal government provide “critical funding to enable this transformational project to move forward as expeditiously as possible.”
Rosen, in a press release, said she has been a strong supporter of the Brightline West project as a way to support Nevada’s tourism economy and easy transportation issues.
The Brightline West project would build a high speed route between Las Vegas and Southern California, mostly following the route of Interstate 15. Originally slated to reach the Victorville area, plans are now to extend the route to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., where passengers could use Metrolink commuter trains to reach downtown Los Angeles [see “Comments deadline nears for Brightline West plan …,” Trains News Wire, March 20, 2023].
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