Merced leaders and local residents Thursday night blasted alternative high-speed rail routes from San Jose to Merced because they would interfere with farms or neighborhoods.
"This looks like a tremendous amount of prime ag land that will be disrupted," Merced College President Ben Duran said after hearing about the options.
Officials with the California High-Speed Rail Authority presented potential alternative routes for the 120-mile San Jose-to-Merced segment during a meeting at the Merced Senior Community Center on 15th Street. Roughly 70 people, including officials from UC Merced and city and county government, attended the two-hour meeting.
As part of the planning process, the rail planners must consider all options before deciding where the train will travel. The input heard during the meeting will be used in the next phase when planners do more environmental studies and suggest a final route.
For the San Jose-to-Gilroy-Merced section, a plan should be picked by 2012. "It seems like a long time but it will move real quick," regional manager Gary Kennerley said.
The route suggested by the rail authority -- and favored by people at the meeting -- would have the bullet train shooting in a straight east-to-west line north of Los Banos, alongside Henry Miller Road. It would then follow Highway 152 before heading north along Highway 99 at Chowchilla into Merced.
Two optional routes have the track dipping slightly to the south sooner. Two others are dramatically different.
One alternative has the tracks arcing north near Gustine, cresting at Highway 165 and falling down to align with Highway 140.
The second alternative has the tracks following I-5 south before curving east toward Firebaugh and going into Fresno. The route would leave Merced out.
Duran challenged the lower route because it would disrupt many more farming operations. He questioned whether using it would violate the intent of Prop. 1A, a $9.9 billion bond measure which voters passed knowing certain routes were likely.
Other residents were frustrated that the planners came back with more route options for the rail system. "When will we commit that we'll only use a certain route?" council candidate Rick Osorio asked. "You'll spend more time studying and spend all the money."
Regional project manager Dave Mansen said considering alternatives is part of the federal study that needs to be done.
Merced County Assistant Development Services Director Bill Nicholson gave planners a two-page written letter. He went on to tell them that the I-5 route could impact the kit foxes and cause planning headaches as a result.
The northern route would go through the McSwain neighborhood and also present problems, he said.
UC Merced Associate Chancellor Janet Young said the university would submit written comments, but encouraged planners to stick with the route suggested by the the rail authority.
"The (northern) one looks inefficient," she said.
Other residents worried about noise, impacts to farm operations and cost overruns. Planners said they'd try their best to keep the trains quiet, find solutions to impacts and budget as accurately as possible.
California is waiting to hear on its application for federal economic stimulus funding submitted last week. The federal government has $8 billion to distribute. The state asked for $4.5 billion. Officials with the White House said 24 states asked for a combined $50 billion. An announcement should be made this winter.
Reporter Scott Jason can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or sjason@mercedsun-star.com.
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