and >> good morning, everyone.

in the director of the transbay joint powers authority. [applause] on behalf of the tjpa, i would like to welcome everyone to this historic occasion -- the groundbreaking of the first high-speed modern railway station in the united states. [applause] today marks the culmination of a very long journey and an enormous amount of hard work by many people to make this day a reality. there were many challenges along the way, but we had a great vision, a huge optimism, remained focused, and most importantly, have the ongoing support of the public to fulfill their expectations. here is what we are delivering to the public starting today. the first new high-speed rail station in the country, the first modern regional bus station in more than 60 years. after more than 100 years, a

downtown san francisco train station, all line one modern landmark building designed by world-class architects and engineers. that will be surrounded by new residents and new workers. this will be a 21st century building for a 21st century region and state and a world- class building for a world-class city. i would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our speakers today and also recognize the countless number of people across the san francisco bay area, california, and washington, d.c., who worked with us to make this happen. many are here today and others in spirit. thank you all. we made it. the grand central station of the west coast is starting construction. [applause] thank you. now, i would like to introduce our first speaker, the chairman of our board, nathaniel ford.

he serves as the chair of the transbay joint powers authority and the executive director of the municipal transportation agency. he also sits on the caltrain board of directors. he has been a strong supporter of the project since its arrival, and we are deeply grateful for his leadership and guidance. chairman ford. [applause] >> thank you, maria. good morning, everyone. today is a great day, and we thank you for coming to our ceremony. i say our ceremony because it took all of us to pull this together, all of our hard work. those of you who contributed over the decade, a long effort to end at today culminating in a groundbreaking for our new transit center. there are many people that we should mention today and give a little bit of perspective in terms of how we got here, in which former mayor, joseph alioto, whose granddaughter is

here today, which can be in one of the first studies of a future trends bay terminal -- future transbay terminal. more than a decade later, the recommendation was made to extend caltrain operations to the transbay terminal 1.3 miles away. after the earthquake in 1989, the terminal was determined to be unsafe. the city and state determined that the facility was seismically deficient. it was under former mayor brown who hired and placed his trust in our executive director, to lead transbay effort. she created and has led this transbay joint powers authority to design, build, and operate a facility which we stand today on the ground to break. a key milestone to bring us to this day was a transfer by the state of 12 acres of land to the

tjpa and the city to help fund the new transit center. this agreement, signed during the brown administration and campaign at the state level by former senate president john burton -- [applause] that agreement provides one of the largest funding contributions to this project and allows for the creation of new neighborhoods with hundreds of affordable housing units. today, during the tenure of our mayor, gavin newsom, he has been an enthusiastic and effective advocate of the project since he was a supervisor representing district two. we finally break ground today. this project would not have been possible without the numerous contributions of individuals, and in particular, our transportation partners. the city and county of san francisco, the san francisco municipal transportation agency, the san detail transportation authority, the transit district,

the metropolitan transportation commission, the state of california, our state legislative delegation, the california high speed rail authority, and the united states department of transportation, the federal transportation administration, the federal highway administration, and the federal railroad administration. we also have to thank president obama and secretary lahood. they deserve recognition for the recent $400 million in arra funding we have received. it is that funding and that a war that has propelled us into construction with the levels which will ultimately serve both caltrain and future high-speed rail. i also would like to thank the federal government for the 7 $1 million we have received as san francisco and tsa. we have used that to develop jobs that have created over 800

hours of job hours and also has allowed us to rank as the fourth leading agency in the nation for creating and retaining jobs. going forward, we will remain steadfast and committed to working with our federal partners to improve transportation and workforce opportunities in the bay area. in that same vein, i would also like to thank acknowledge our congressional delegation, speaker pelosi, senator feinstein, senator boxer, congressman miller. [applause] is through their hard work and their contribution that we have been able to get to this day and have a successful transbay project. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman. now, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the mayor of san francisco. mayor newsom has led the way in

creating jobs and stimulating the city put the economic growth. under his leadership, san francisco has become a hub for clean technology, renewable energy, and green development. during his tenure, development progressed through the planning stages to the start of construction. we thank our mayor for his strong support of the project and for all his guidance. >> thank you all. welcome. a small crowd for san francisco. this is rather extraordinary. that did all the thank you's. god forbid that i repeat every single name he mentioned. we have another six or seven speakers coming up. but i do want to get to the banks after it was not long ago, and it is in distant memory, in the 1990's, we saw a huge economic growth in the bay area, not just here in san francisco.

we had growth in 15% of our employment base, but we found something alarm or remarkable. it was about the time that steve came forward with that mtc report that showed it some likely scenarios that might need to be adjusted slightly. in the next 25 years, we expect to grow to another 1.2 million people. the question at the time, and again today, what do you do to accommodate that growth? how do you compete? we had to think differently. we are blessed because one of the things we are celebrating is

the visionary leadership of leaders that have come and gone, establishing a framework for transportation, recognizing that than today with transit, near and around jobs, we will continue to grow, we have to prosper. this is the ultimate manifestation of smart growth. the first and substantive thing we are doing is this $1.2 billion transit center that links 11 transit agencies. the second thing we are celebrating a is a brand new neighborhood.

2600 housing units, 35% of them below market, 3 million square feet of commercial space. when we get done with this, we will be talking about not just the transamerica icon, the golden gate bridge, the new span on the bay bridge, but a new icon intent to go in and around the world. the tallest new tower on the west coast of the united states that will anger this neighborhood with real focus on street level vibrancy, outdoor cafes, expanded sidewalks, tree- lined boulevards, outdoor merchants. connecting a sense of community with a sense of place. the third thing we are celebrating, live near pringle is here, we are going to be

building a box. we are building a box that will accommodate something that is arguably a generation overdue. i am sick and tired of hearing how wonderful the transportation system is in france, do you know what they're doing in beijing? finally, california will get it right in with this. this project that so many people have talked about will finally start to take shape. the fourth thing we are celebrating go to my first point, leadership. stewardship. we would not be here if it was not the work for willie brown

and others. don perotta and his extraordinary work. members of the board of supervisors that have come and gone. past mayors, incredible leadership from caltran, mtc, to all the folks that you see here, and in particular, secretary ray lahood, who stepped up to the plate and follow through on a commitment to steer a significant amount of funds our way. to barbara boxer as well, who has proven it is not just words that create jobs, but follow- through. it is about the leadership and the extension of past mayors, the good work of george miller,

all the folks that that in four dimensions. let me conclude by saying that at the end of the day, all of that matters a lot come but it is simply not enough. the only way to cross the finish line, the only reason that we will be back here in 2017 completing -- celebrating its completion, it is all because there was a member of the congress to ended up becoming the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. her faith to this project, we are really celebrating her and her delegation. there is a guy with a hat on behind me. mike represents the building traders there is a lot of reason to be happy about what this

project represents, but now more than ever, the job it -- the issue is jobs. that is also what we are celebrating. tens of thousands of jobs that will begin anew with the demolition and reconstruction. and that is something to celebrate. thank you for being here. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. now i would like to introduce major spring goal in the chair of the california high speed rail authority, one of the collaborators on the project. anaheim mayor kurt pringle was appointed to the border by governor schwarzenegger. he took over as chairman one year ago and has helped us usher in a new phase, winning the largest share of federal act funds in the country, hiring a

new ceo, and moving the plan to implementation. he is a former speaker of the california state assembly and had been the mayor of anaheim since 2002, which to the south of where we are today, is where the rail system will terminate. mayor pringle. [applause] >> thank you. i did notice willie brown showed up when i came to the podium. [laughter] mr. mayor, it is so nice to be in your city. as you are getting ready to break ground on this project, i,

too, and looking for to breaking ground on a major transit center. major new some, i do not believe that that is the only similarity we share. we are both committed to delivering a high speed rail system to california. this breaking of brown them in great -- demonstrates the breaking of that system. in anaheim, we will break ground next here on our regional intermodal train that center. this type of project takes a tremendous amount of vision and leadership to follow through. of course, san francisco is a city with a long tradition of leadership and vision. projects like these, if done right, have the power to transform a city and to

transform the quality of life for so many citizens who can change the way that they travel to and from work, to a city, or to a region for a long weekend. at the end of the day, transportation is about moving californians efficiently so that they could spend more time, not in traffic, but with their family and friends and doing things they enjoy. for most of us, that is spending a week in san francisco. that is the name of the california high-speed rail project, to move as efficiently and affordably from one metropolitan of our state to another. although the california high- speed rail project will not be selling tickets from los angeles to san francisco for another 10 years, the transbay joint powers authority inc. the need for trains in other cities.

we are glad they have considered the future development of a high-speed system. we are also pleased that the american recovery in reinvestment act is making this project possible. california one, by far, the largest share in the nation of recovery act funds. we need to thank the secretary for that. but we also thank the president for that than his vision for including high-speed rail in the stimulus program, as well as the fine the leadership of speaker pelosi, senator feinstein and boxer, and partners at the u. s. department of transportation and federal railroad administration. we will be looking to do to make high-speed rail a reality for the nation, and particularly here in california. i look forward to the day when i can board a train downtown in my city and arrive less than three

hours in your downtown. on behalf of the california high speed rail authority, board members who are here today, our new ceo, we join in celebrating this great day and accomplishment. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, mayor. now, representing the state of california on behalf of governor schwarzenegger is david crane. he is the governor's economic adviser. i want to give a special thank- you to the state of california for transferring the land that made all of this possible. [applause] >> thank you, maria. as a supporter of high-speed rail, i can guarantee you governor schwarzenegger would love to be here today, but he is in sacramento focused on the budget reforms that are needed

to protect the funding for precisely the kind of infrastructure that we are celebrating today. he sent me here instead. not least because he knows i am a standard disk in who commutes to work to sacramento by rail, but also because he knows that the sustainable economy of the 21st century simply cannot be built without 21st century transportation systems, such as high-speed rail, and 21st century transportation terminals, such as the transbay terminal. millions of people must able to travel around the state without bread box and without impairing the environment. it is great the construction we are celebrating today will create desperately needed jobs right now, but it will be even greater, that finishing the

construction will create and sustain jobs that will last for decades. of course, there will always be critics of bold visions like these. even abraham lincoln was criticized for the transcontinental railroad. but once california has experienced the joe i come on duty, and productivity of traveling rail, those critics will no longer be heard. so on behalf of the governor, i want to congratulate speaker pelosi, congressman miller, secretary lahood, near new some, chairman ford, and the new executive director come on this wonderful vacation. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, david. the transbay project will serve nine counties including southern california sunday and will serve 11 the contracts that operators, including the east

bay. representing the east bay is congress miller. congressman george miller may be best known as the house education committee leader. here at home, he has been a longtime supporter of the transbay project and the affordable housing component of the program. many of his constituents commute to san francisco daily, and we both look forward to the day that the commuters will arrive at a transit center. i want to thank congressman miller for his support over the years. [applause] >> thank you very much. i am here, not just representing the east bay but the rest of the california delegation of the bay area. we understand while this project is in san francisco, it adds value to the entire economy of the bay area, to the employment

opportunity, opportunity of families to come and relocate. they know they will be able to take advantage of a modern intermodal transportation system. as we look at the data, there are two things families and businesses are interested in. what is the education system like, what is the transportation system like? with a great host city, like san francisco for this facility, we think we will attract the best from all over the world. with the california transportation team that put this together, the initial legislation by john burton who allowed this to take place, the high speed rail authority, it has been phenomenal. but you do not just show up for the ribbon cutting. we are here because of the final portion added to this as well,

the recovery act. the obama administration insisted we needed to move this country forward, and throughout the country, there were many who said that the recovery act was too big. now of course, the year and a half later, they say that it should have been larger because the economy is struggling. no matter how big, the speaker of the house said this needs to be a recovery act that can speak to today, in terms of projects that are ready to do with this economy, but they have to be large enough to embrace the future. we have to put people to work in a way that will embrace the future 30 years from today. that is what this project does. that was the house and aren't. then we have to go to the senate. [laughter] i just want to make sure you knew what i was talking about.

and then barbara boxer had to go through and explain we are not building for today, this is for tomorrow. yes, we will put the shovels in the ground, we will put people to work now, but we have to address the future, the problems that the mayor addressed, the governor and legislature talked about. that brings us here today, her success, and that is how we have to address this to get the nation moving again. it is very exciting to work with speaker pelosi, senator boxer, senator feinstein on these huge projects. we have always believed california is on the cutting edge. being here in this great city with this great leadership is once again the proof that we are on the cutting edge. thank you for the vision of the

transportation secretary as well for recognizing that. [applause] >> thank you. now it is with great pleasure that i introduce senator barbara boxer, who from the beginning, has worked on the transbay project. a forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, and state of california, barbara boxer became a u.s. senator in 1993 after 10 years of service in the house of representatives. elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any senate candidate in history. a liter on environmental protection, she is the first woman to chair the u.s. senate's environmental an