How the LAX People Mover exemplifies Californias cant do attitude

There was a time when California built big things efficiently. In the 1930s, for example, the state simultaneously constructed the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge — both marvels of engineering — in about a four-year span. Both on time.Both on budget.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story Those days are gone.Today, examples abound of California construction projects gone (way) awry. One of those is the long-awaited People Mover at LAX.The project’s contractor, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, disclosed this month that the train — intended to whisk people around LA’s famously sprawling airport — will not open in October as most recently planned.Instead, the 2.25-mile-spanning train just might be ready in January.

Maybe.Could be.

If the stars and other variables align.The inert people mover underscores a stark reality in California: Our culture of efficiently building things — especially big things — has not just deteriorated.It’s collapsed. Projects take too long, deliver too little, and cost too much.That culture needs to change.The preeminent example, of course, is the state’s High-Speed Rail to nowhere: Nearly 20 years in the making, tens of billions over budget and not an inch of track laid.There’s also state’s Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — a massive bridge to let mountain lions and other animals cross the busy 101 — also years late and billions over budget.And then there’s the People Mover in LA. The project broke ground in 2019.

It was forecast to cost $1.9 billion and be zipping through LAX by 2023.Now, the cost has soared to $3.34 billion, with service set to start, maybe, in 2027.To be fair, at least some portions of the $30 billion LAX overhaul have fared better than the beleaguered train.But per media re...