Construction in Pacheco Pass would start in three to five years.

Work on the high-speed rail project in 2019 on a 115-mile stretch in the Central Valley. Photo by Leslie David.

While much of the publicity about the California High-Speed Rail project has focused on the Central Valley, it’s also expected to pass through San Benito County. And while there’s a possibility for local skilled jobs in a maintenance yard, it won’t happen for three to five years, according to Northern California Regional Director Boris Lipkin for the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSR).

Lipkin told BenitoLink by phone on April 23 that 115 miles of the project is currently under construction in the Central Valley. He said Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to extend that section, eventually expanding another 50 miles south to Bakersfield. In Northern California, HSR has partnered with Caltrain to electrify the system from San Francisco to San Jose. Lipkin said the San Jose to Pacheco Pass Corridor will run from Diridon Station through San Benito County and into the Pacheco Pass to nine miles northeast of Los Banos. Environmental clearance is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

From a map produced by HSR (see below), there are two possible routes through San Benito County. One crosses over Frazier Lake Road and then Bloomfield Road. The other runs between Frazier Lake Road and State Route 25. There will be a maintenance yard alongside whichever route is chosen. Both lead into the Pacheco Pass near Casa de Fruta and into a tunnel. Lipkin said the focus is on gaining environmental clearances.

“Our next big milestone is coming this fall,” Lipkin said. “In September, we’ll be bringing our staff’s recommendations to the board of directors and ask them to either concur with our recommendations or change them in some way. That will be the last part of picking routes. From there, we go into the draft environmental document.”

Geotechnical studies have been underway of Pacheco Pass in preparation for at least two tunnels planned to run on the south side of State Route 152, Lipkin said. One is over 13 miles long.

“That’s just one of the mega projects we’re working on for the overall system,” he said. “We’re bringing in experts from abroad who have built these kinds of long tunnels.”

Lipkin said HSR also talked to Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk, who also founded The Boring Company in 2016 as subsidiary of SpaceX, specifically to dig tunnels under Los Angeles.

“I don’t know if we’ve engaged him in discussion about this tunnel yet, but in San Jose they’re talking to him about a tunnel between the airport and Diridon Station,” he said.

Lipkin said they chose a tunnel over an elevated train because electric high-speed trains need precise grades that cannot be accomplished by following the contours of rolling hills.

“The other part of it is the Pacheco Pass is a wildlife corridor and we’re trying to avoid impacting natural resources,” he said. “With the need to maintain high speeds to meet our travel-time requirements, the ultimate solution is to include those two tunnel sections, as well as viaducts, depending on what the right engineering solution is for any given portion of the route.”

The planned maintenance facility will focus on maintaining the precisely designed tracks for high-speed rail.

“That’s where the crews would start out by staging equipment,” Lipkin said. “Most of the maintenance work happens at night, so there would be folks who would stage equipment during the day for the nightly maintenance.”

He anticipates people with experience in construction and maintenance would be recruited locally, rather than having them travel from outside the area.

“It would be a question of doing the training and apprenticeship programs to make sure there’s a qualified workforce,” Lipkin said. “From what we’ve seen there is the capability within the labor force to take on some of these functions and we would certainly have a lot of local draw.”

Meanwhile, he said working groups have been conducted over the years to encourage public input. There is a local working group planned for July, but place and time have yet to be determined.

“About a month ago, we presented at the Mobility Partnership, which is a group focused on Santa Clara County and San Benito County,” he said, “on how to improve mobility in the Pacheco Pass Corridor, and what happens with the 152.”

HSR representatives are open to speaking before community organizations, he said, though up to now there have been few requests for information from anyone in San Benito County.

“We’re more than willing to come and present information and answer questions from the community as we go through the process,” Lipkin said.