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.