We’ll get right to it: Senator John Moorlach of Orange County just proposed a bill that would introduce America’s first autobahn — aka a speed limit-less highway — in California. Before you googly-eyed motorheads take off for the Golden State tonight, reread that last sentence. Proposed.
But given recent drama involving a high-speed rail project, plus infamously soul-sucking traffic on its freeways, if there’s any state where the idea has a fighting chance, it’s California. To really understand Moorlach’s proposal, you need to start with California’s proposed bullet train project, and the partisan controversy it has stoked.
California High-Speed Rail Authority / Youtube
Here’s a quick summary of what’s gone down:
- Governer Gavin Newsom semi-canceled plans in his State of the State address for a high-speed extension from LA to SF
- The Federal Railroad Administration, none too pleased with Newsom’s announcement, complained about various transgressions with the project (deadlines missed, not enough money raised, route shorter than budgeted for) and threatened to officially withhold hundreds of millions in funding for the project
- Newsom walked back his statements, emphasizing the LA-SF bullet will just be put on hold while waiting for funding … meanwhile, more reasonable routes like Bakersfield to Merced will be the priority
- Mixed up in all this is the federal government’s tenuous (to say the least) relationship with California; the state was one of many to decry President Trump’s so-called National Emergency at the border, and does not have currently have many supporters at 1600 Penn
Enter Senator Moorlach and Bill 319. Inspired by this railway uncertainty, Moorlach wants the California Department of Transportation to add unlimited speed lanes to I-5 and State Route 99, two north-south routes in the state that link Los Angeles and San Francisco. Moorlach envisions paying for mini autobahns with California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which sounds a bit counter-intuitive. But his pitch suggests cars arriving places quicker and more efficiently would eliminate parking lot highways and thereby decrease emmissions.
Our take? It would be sweet to not have to go abroad for our next adrenaline-pumping left-lane adventure. California hardly needs reason for more tourists, but an opportunity to drive their version of the autobahn would be an immediate draw and bring more money into the state. OC to Napa in 4-5 hours? Yes, please.
All that daydreaming’s probably easier for a non-Californian, though. Widening a highway (while cheaper than creating bullet train railways), can paradoxically create more traffic as more drivers join the road. Just look at the 405. And Moorlach’s claims that drivers cranking up to 100-MPH will be “burning fuel more efficiently” doesn’t exactly pass the smell test. Driving at that speed can put a tremendous strain on a vehicle, and will burn up a crap-ton of fuel. How many new gas stations will have to be built alongside these new lanes? Don’t get us wrong, we want the American Autobahn as much as the next guy. But let’s create it the right way, not as a reaction to public transport-megeddon.
To read the exact proposal from Senator Moorlach, head here.
Image via Jacob Repko/Unsplash
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
