By  Victor A. Patton l May 2, 2024

The Merced Senior Center was packed with residents Thursday night, as officials with the California High Speed Rail Authority held an open house to gather public input on early design concepts for Merced’s station.

Merced’s station will feature connections to Amtrak San Joaquins and Altamont Commuter Express Rail trains all in one place. The station will be located in downtown Merced, bordered by 15th and 16th Streets and O and R Streets.

The Merced station will be California High Speed Rail’s northern point of the first 171-mile segment through the San Joaquin Valley, starting in Bakersfield in the south.

Margaret Cederoth, director of planning and sustainability for the California High Speed Rail Authority, said $3.1 billion awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation has given the project an important boost.

“I know that folks in the Valley have watched construction for over the past eight years, and we are eager to take the lessons of that construction process and apply them to be effective here in Merced,” Cederoth said.

Merced leaders have said the High Speed Rail project is a game changer for the city that will likely bring millions of dollars in investment and jobs, not to mention drawing thousands of commuters who will ultimately spend money in the region.

“High Speed Rail represents Merced’s future, it’s an economic catalyst,” said Merced Deputy City Manager Frank Quintero.

“There will be functions from High Speed Rail that will be brought to the community that will create jobs. There will be service jobs because we will have part of their layover facility here. But mainly we are going to have investors wanting to put their money in Merced, create job-generating and tax revenue-generating types of projects as we’ve seen on Main Street with the (El Capitan) Hotel, (The Tioga) apartments and the Mainzer theater.”

A 3D printed model of the station design that organizers said would be on display was not available during Thursday’s event, although there were a variety of renderings.

California High Speed Rail Authority staff were also on hand to gather feedback and answer any questions attendees had about the project.

Officials said they expect the 3D display will be available at Cal Expo in Sacramento during the California State Fair.

Critics statewide have attacked the High Speed Rail project for its ballooning construction costs over the years.

The Fresno Bee reported latest cost estimates for construction of the first segment range between $29.8 billion and $32.9 billion.

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