Posted on 08/16/2004 6:40:30 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he would appoint an auditor to look into why the cost of the seven-bridge Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program has grown from $2.6 billion to $7.4 billion.
The program was created to fix the state's toll bridges that were most vulnerable to earthquakes.
The Bay Bridge, which links San Francisco and Oakland, is the main part of the program, which includes five bridges in northern California and two in the south. The Bay Bridge was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but has yet to be fully repaired. Its costs have been the highest, and most over the original estimate, officials said.
Schwarzenegger blamed the delay on "politics, geographic rivalry and poor planning," and said he would appoint an independent auditor to examine the decision-making that led to a $5 billion overrun.
Schwarzenegger is sponsoring legislation that would allow voters to determine if the recently levied third dollar of the bridge tolls could be redirected to pay for the retrofit. If voters don't do that, then local transportation commissions could come up with another way to pay for the higher costs, which could include a higher toll.
Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Los Angeles, said the solution would have to include an increased toll "because there's just not the state money to do it."
"An audit is critical," said Oropeza, the chairwoman of the Assembly Transportation Committee. "It's important to know what went wrong with the estimating and ensure it never happens again."
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On the Net:
http://www.governor.ca.gov
Oh Norm! LOL Let's hope this is the beginning of the end for about twenty political careers in the Oakland San Franciso area.
Does CALTRANS have anything to do with the mess?
That will be the answer.
What is orange and sleeps eight?
A CALTRANS crew truck.
The money is there, sweety.. cut cut cut
As if every one of those bridge users isn't already paying thru the nose for the excesses of the corrupt legislature the last few years..
The squandering of monies not in hand to dole out contracts galore to the unions that do not serve the public's best interests as currently structured...
That and a failed Prop that passed with the people's approval but failed a lib judge's sense of fairness.
They have the "Big Dig" back east, we have the "Deluxe Erector Set" out West. I'm sure politicians, kickbacks, and contractors are throughly in the mix.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, August 2, 2002
California Auditors Project Bay-Bridge Project to Go Millions over Budget.Replacing the Bay Bridge eastern span likely will cost millions more than the state has budgeted, despite Caltrans promises to contain costs, state auditors say.
"Although Caltrans maintains that its current funding is sufficient to cover estimated program costs, recent information suggests that Caltrans may need additional funding," state Auditor Elaine Howle said thursday.
Her office released results of its review of delays and massive cost overruns in the seismic retrofit of the five state-owned toll bridges in the Bay Area and two in Southern California. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee requested the investigation.
Key findings include:
- Caltrans' 1997 estimate of $2.6 billion to retrofit bridges and replace the eastern span of the Bay Bridge swelled 77 percent to $4.6 billion, while completion dates stretched from 2004 to 2009.
- The new eastern span is the single largest cost factor: Caltrans now puts the price at $2.6 billion, double the original estimate.
(snip)
An increased toll? Didn't the toll at the Golden Gate Bridge go from $2 to $5 just a few years ago? Five dollars is an insanely high toll when you have I believe, 70,000 cars crossing each day. That's 35K at $5...$175,000 per day, over a million dollars per week, over $50 million per year. Crooks.
Jim Eason said many times. If the government is involved, it will cost more than was said, plus it will take longer than was said.
I miss Jim.
He was dead on in his assessments of many issues.
He left California years ago..
The same happened down here is the Salinas valley. They proposed a US101 bypass. Instead of building the damn thing, they kept doing environmental impact studies. The pricetag almost tripled. Now the county can't afford their share.
The chronic malfeasance in the Bay Area is the reason they have another liberal SNAFU. It’s already on the news up here about why the State should bail them out.
I would LOVE to hear Jim Eason on the radio again. His was a most refreshing voice of reason in an UN-reasonable area...
Is he still alive, does anyone know? He'd be broadcasting here from his NC home... near Charlotte, I think.
He's still kicking ;-)
Him and Herb Caen were a couple unique fellas
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