California high-speed rail agency invests recovery dollars on schedule

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) has finished investing $2.55 billion worth of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds by the required Sept. 30 deadline.

The agency released a report that details how it spent the ARRA funds. A little more than $2 billion went toward construction of the Central Valley segment.

Currently, more than a dozen active construction sites are underway over 119 miles in the Central Valley segment, according to the report.

The ARRA was enacted in 2009 to address the Great Recession by providing funds to build new infrastructure and spur technological development. At that time, California's statewide unemployment rate was about 12.4 percent, CHSRA officials said in a press release.

"Thanks to these federal funds, thousands of people are working in good-paying jobs to build a new transportation system that will improve quality-of-life for generations to come," said Dan Richard, CHSRA's chairman.