Free Republic

Demolition of the old Carquinez Bridge will cost more than three times as much as the state estimated, the latest example of a huge Caltrans cost overrun on a Bay Area bridge project. A committee of the Bay Area Toll Authority reluctantly agreed Wednesday to allot $49.7 million for the demolition and removal of the original span of the bridge, a job that state engineers had said would cost $16 million. The 1927-vintage span, considered too fragile for seismic strengthening, was replaced in November 2003 by the Al Zampa Bridge.

BOSTON (AP) -- A $75 million land sale to Harvard gives the prestigious university unusual new power - the potential to literally move the Massachusetts Turnpike, a state official complained. Documents filed on the completion of the 91-acre land deal show the property includes a toll plaza, an estimated 3,000-foot section of the turnpike and several ramps, The Boston Globe reported Saturday. "Frankly, I think this is ridiculous," Secretary of State William Galvin said. "Harvard University now owns the land on which the turnpike sits. Who has ever heard of selling an interstate for the benefit of a university?" The...