More than four years after California voters approved a bullet train, the biggest project in state history, sealed envelopes containing the actual cost for the first leg of the high-speed rail line will finally be hand-delivered to state offices this week.

But you won't see the bid prices yet -- and neither will the officials planning the project. They'll be filed away in sealed containers, with the supporting documents locked up in fireproof cabinets.

Five major firms Friday will submit their final bids to build the first 29 miles of train track in the Central Valley, an eagerly anticipated milestone as it will provide the first gauge on whether the project is on pace to meet its $69 billion budget and actually be completed.

But bullet train officials say they will keep the price portion of the bids sealed in separate envelopes, like at the Oscars, while they analyze the quality of the proposals. That process, already delayed from November, could take another two months and is meant to keep state officials from being biased toward the firms with the cheapest bids.

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