- The High Speed Rail Authority shared an update on the Fresno River Viaduct
- They were widely mocked with Elon Musk and Billy Markus piling on
California has been mercilessly mocked for boasting about having completed “the world’s most useless crossing” to nowhere at a cost of $11 billion.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority shared an update on the Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County last week, proudly saying it was one of the “first high-speed rail structures completed.”
The tweet did not get the reaction officials had hoped for, as Elon Musk and Dogecoin creator Billy Markus mocked the project.
The viaduct has taken nine years to build and cost taxpayers $11 billion as part of the state’s long-delayed bullet train plan intended to link San Francisco with Los Angeles.
Commenting on photographs showing the bridge stopping at just 1,600 feet long with both ends floating disconnected in the air, Markus tweeted: “This is the most remarkable human achievement ever made.”
The California High Speed Rail Authority shared an update on the Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County last week.
Its construction has taken nine years and cost taxpayers $11 billion.
Sharing the rail authority’s tweet, he added: “1,600 feet of high-speed rail after 9 years and $11 billion, it takes about 5 minutes to walk 1,600 feet, so that’s what a high-speed train is really for.” a big problem”.
He added: “How impressive. I can’t wait until the year 2400 for this to be over for $700 trillion.”
Musk then chimed in and added a crying face emoji.
The high-speed rail project has been plagued by delays and setbacks.
So far, $11 billion of taxpayer money has been invested in the plan to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco.
The figure includes work on the controversial Fresno bridge and a section running from Bakersfield to Merced, which is about 80 miles from the Bay Area.
An estimated $100 billion more will be needed to complete the project and link San Francisco to Los Angeles, and many are calling for the project to be scrapped.
The high-speed train project has been hit by delays and setbacks
Sharing its update on the project, the rail authority said: ‘The Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County is one of the first high-speed rail structures completed.
“At nearly 1,600 feet long, the high-speed trains will travel over the riverbed and run parallel to the BNSF railroad.”
They added photos showing the short concrete bridge crossing a road before stopping abruptly in mid-air with no connections at either end.
Venture capitalist Patrick Blumenthal chimed in and said, ‘0.3 miles completed. After 15 years. After 11.2 billion dollars. 36.96 billion dollars per mile.’
Others suggested that the project will take so long to complete that “the high-speed train will be finished on the Moon before then.”