The groundbreaking ceremony for the just-opened Expo Line light rail to Santa Monica took place back on September 29, 2006.  I was there and got this cool mini shovel memorabilia to honor the occasion:

That means that the opening of the full line to Santa Monica on Friday happened just under 10 years after groundbreaking.  For those keeping score at home, that means the Expo Line Construction Authority managed to build 1.5 miles of rail each year.

As far as rail lines go, this should not have been a very complicated construction job.  The line runs virtually entirely at-grade, with minimal trenching and a handfull of overpasses.  In addition, the right-of-way already existed and therefore required relatively little property acquisition and condemnation.

In short, the amount of time spent to build this line seems absurd.  That’s not even counting the years of planning.  And yet the region’s leaders apparently aren’t upset by it or demand any better.

Sadly, at this point, Californians have just gotten used to these interminable construction timetables.  High speed rail is way behind schedule and won’t open until probably the 2040s or 2050s, if at all.  The Purple Line subway extension down Wilshire most likely won’t be operational until the 2030s.  Even automobile projects like the San Francisco Bay Bridge eastern span took over a decade to open.

It’s a subject I tackled for UCLA Law in 2014, with the report Back in the Fast Lane, and an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle.  Yet I’ve seen little interest among policy makers (or even the public) to tackle this issue.  Why the complacency?

For those who care about boosting transit, they have an interest in getting ahead of this problem.  A few bad headlines can undermine political support for transit investments, especially in California where advocates need two-thirds voter approval for tax measures.  And it also means we’re getting much less bang for our buck on these projects, which means fewer projects that benefit people.

It’s enough to make me mad.  Or maybe it will later.  At some point anyway.