[www.latimes.com]

Settlement agreement shuts down the freeway portion of the High Desert Corridor...unless it can be proved that it won't increase VMT!

If true, even though the agreement doesn't stop the non-highway elements (rail, bike, etc.) from moving ahead, the money to finish the paperwork for them will likely go away.

Given the state commitments to reduce VMT, this agreement was pretty much a given. The studies needed to address them would be expensive, time-consuming, and ultimately impossible to complete. After all, except for entirely federal projects on federal land (and not even all of them), state environmental rules do apply to new freeways built with state money. Still, this would be the first large project I've seen that has foundered on the shoals of VMT.