Dive Brief:

• The California High-Speed Rail Authority has determined the $348 million bid from Spain-based firm Ferrovial for a 22-mile section of the light rail transit system, which will one day enable bullet train service between Los Angeles and San Francisco, is the lowest and "apparent" best value, The Los Angeles Times reported.
• The other three bids ranged between $377 million and $582 million. The bid does not include the actual rail installation or high-voltage systems or signals necessary for a bullet train.
• The 22 miles of viaducts, highway work, wildlife crossings, relocation of existing track and rail bed will be the third contracted segment of the system since 2013 and brings the authority close to the $6 billion it planned to spend on construction in the region.

Dive Insight:

The work included in Ferrovial's bid is part of the 122-mile Madera-Shafter section of the system that runs through Fresno. That stretch was originally planned to be completed by next year before federal grants expire, but construction on the first contracted piece is two years behind, according to The Times.

The authority said it will make up delays by moving more quickly from this point forward, but experts say it is doubtful that the state will be able to act fast enough to spend all of its $2 billion in stimulus funds by the deadline of Sept. 30, 2017.

"We continue to attract world-leading design and construction firms who want to be a part of high-speed rail in California," Jeff Morales, chief executive of the rail authority, told The Times. 

Ferrovial has extensive experience in the U.S. and is expected to be officially selected by the authority’s board later this month, an action that will allow the parties to negotiate a formal contract.

The light rail project has been the source of controversy over costs for months, and some lawmakers have called for an investigation into whether authority officials were upfront about the project’s true costs during the legislative approval process. A Los Angeles Times investigation revealed the existence of a Parsons-Brinckerhoff report stating that the rail project would cost $9 billion more than the authority told the legislature.

"We’re discovering that documents demonstrating the overruns would be $9 billion, and those documents were buried and remained secret," California Assemblyman Jim Patterson told The Fresno Bee in November.

Patterson also criticized the authority for not revealing doubts expressed by the private sector about the feasibility of the project, which requires tunneling 36 miles through the San Gabriel and Tehachapi mountain ranges.