https://apnews.com/d330b5681468f5e16bd7438c59e4d36b > LONDON (AP) — Construction formally began Friday on Britain's 106 billion-pound ($140 billion) high-speed railway project, aiming to forge better connections between cities for decades to come. > Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the HS2 project, which has its “shovels in the ground" moment just as the country is wondering whether the over-budget and often-delayed project offers good value at a time when the the COVID-19 pandemic has enshrined the idea of working from home.