In his State of the State address yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown proudly noted that construction of California's high-speed rail (HSR) project will finally begin this year.

The project is "bold," he said, but important for the future of California, pointing out that many countries — "even Morocco" — already have high-speed rail systems in place.

The history of the project in California has been a long one: Brown himself signed the state's high-speed rail authority into existence 1982, during his second term as governor.

Recently, construction of the line, eventually to run from San Francisco to San Diego, has been delayed by challenges in court. Some have been decided in favor of the project, but others remain.

There are also significant engineering problems to overcome. One section of line, to be built through two mountain ranges, will be "the project of the century," UC Berkeley civil engineering professor Bill Ibbs said.

To emphasize his hope for success, Brown recounted the story of "The Little Engine That Could." In his telling, a little train engine pulls a heavy load over a large mountain, despite the difficulty of the task.

"We're gonna get over that mountain," Brown said.

This clip from the address was excerpted by the California High Speed Rail Blog: