High-speed rail boondoggle rolls on "when and if funding is in hand"

From the LA Times:

Several serious concerns emerged this week about the impact of California’s planned bullet train on Hollywood Burbank Airport, Burbank’s water supply and a massive commercial development if construction proceeds on a proposed 13.7-mile route through the area.

Despite the issues, the California High-Speed Rail Authority approved its route plan on Thursday. In a series of unanimous votes, the board certified environmental documents that would establish the project’s future path from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station, which would include two tracks and a 50-foot deep underground station near the Hollywood Burbank Airport — when and if funding is in hand....

The segment would cost $4.3 billion to build, including the train station that would be about 200 feet from a future airport passenger terminal and about two miles of tunnels near Burbank....

The rail authority is trying to complete all of its environmental approvals for various segments by next year. It is currently attempting to complete a 171-mile partial operating system in the San Joaquin Valley for $22 billion, which would deplete its current money. 

The full Los Angeles-to-San Francisco system would cost $100 billion, about triple the original estimates, and with an uncertain completion date....