In 2008, Californians were sold a dream, a vision of a high-speed bullet train connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. The price tag was “only” $33 billion, and the benefits would be amazing. Golden State voters said “Yes” to the proposal, and money began pouring out.

Fast-forward to today, however, and still no actual track has been laid, and the price tag for the project has increased to $126 billion. Oh, and it will not be completed until 2033 (fat chance).

The question on everyone’s mind is: Why?

Some theorize that the initial budget neglected to account for specifics such as right-of-way on private land and inland routes. Suffice it to say, that is important information to figure out before getting started on such a massive project.

Others theorize that the bulk of the delay is due to overregulation. California has a litany of environmental rules to navigate, and these can result in years-long negotiations, lawsuits, and investigations that slow momentum.

Another contributing factor is that the cost of hiring the people to build the railway is incredibly high. Plus, the price of construction materials has only gone up every year. The price of lumber alone has more than doubled since 2008.

California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin admitted, “I don’t think the voters fully understood, and neither did we in the public sector, what it was going to take to actually get this project delivered.”

So, what exactly has been delivered? Well, far less than the promised 494 miles of track. Visible infrastructure has been built in the Central Valley farmlands between Bakersfield and Merced, but even once (if?) this section is completed, it will not be a very profitable line because not many people would use it.

Burgeoning railway costs and delays have been a problem for California Democrats for years. This particular project may have been inherited by Governor Gavin Newsom, but like every other issue under his leadership, the problem has festered and metastasized.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden contributed to the bullet train project, each chipping in about $3.5 billion in federal grants. However, President Donald Trump has wisely stated that this railway is a mismanaged money pit. In his words, it is the “worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen.”

“This administration is working to usher in a Golden Age of Transportation,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy told CBS News’s “60 Minutes.” He added, “That vision includes high-speed rail, and we’re exploring opportunities to efficiently build that infrastructure in America. What this administration won’t stand for is boondoggle projects like Newsom’s Train to Nowhere that wasted billions in taxpayer dollars yet delivered nothing to the American people. Under President Trump, America is building again. We defunded Newsom’s disaster and created the first Trump Infrastructure Dividend. Those dollars will now actually fund critical projects that enhance safety on rail networks across America.”

California officials, as a result of the tremendous waste of time and money on high-speed rail, are at a crossroads: Do they find a way to continue the project or scrap it altogether? The burden, as always, will fall heavily on taxpayers.

Even though this project began before Gavin Newsom’s time in Sacramento, it is now a permanent black mark — dirty French Laundry, you might say — against him and a symbol of Democrat mismanagement.