The $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds recently awarded to the California high-speed rail project ensures that construction can proceed on a 520-mile route between Anaheim and San Francisco within three years, rail officials said Thursday. Although this project has been in the works for more than a decade, it has been mostly theory. Voters approved a $10 billion bond measure in 2008 and the recent federal stimulus moves the project one step closer to becoming reality.

This stimulus will not only provide much needed jobs for California residence, but promises to reduce the amount of traffic on California roads by getting people to where they need to go, fast and efficiently. The route is also projected to create a profit of $1 billion annually that will initially go back into the high-speed rail system itself for maintenance and further extensions.

But last month a panel of experts in the fields of transportation engineering and city and regional planning urged caution. “It is a complex endeavor and requires a complex understanding of the engineering, economic and environmental issues.” warns Samer Madanat, director of Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies and CEE professor.

There are two proposed routes through the heart of the city, both following an existing railroad track. The plan is for the route to enter Bakersfield from the northwest, stop at a downtown terminal and exit to the east on the way to the Antelope Valley and beyond to Southern California. Because of the speed, both routes deviate a bit from the existing railroad, running through historic areas, causing controversy in the city.

Bakersfield is not the only ones concerned about the path the high speed rail will take. Farmers up and down the San Joaquin Valley are expressing objections. And battles have broken out in the Bay Area and Southern California.

Bringing a high speed rail line through any community will be disruptive, as well as beneficial. Issues of safety and noise will need to be addressed for any route. Rather than deciding that the exact alignment will be, the design engineers and environmental reviewers should be refining a route that would least impact the community. Wherever possible, they need to avoid schools, hospitals, homes, businesses and churches.