Thanks to Richard Mlynarik of Bay Area Transportation News
for this report on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge
seismic rebuilding:
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 largest cost factor: Caltrans now puts
the price at $2.6 billion, double the original estimate.
* Caltrans' failure to include inflation in its cost estimates led
lawmakers initially to underfund the toll-bridge program.
* The Bay Area's insistence on a signature or landmark eastern span
and amenities such as a bicycle path drove up the cost.
* Motorists will pay a bigger share than initially intended: Tolls now
cover 49 percent of the program costs, up from 35 percent in the
original funding plan.
* Rising support costs, such as staff salaries and consultant fees,
account for a fourth of the overrun.
BATN note: in fact, the over overrruns have been far, far greater.
Caltrans originally promised to replace the span for $1,005 million
(April 1997 Caltrans memo justifying replacement rather than retrofit
by lower "life cycle" costs, compared to a $909 million retrofit.)
By April 1999 (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) replacement was
$1,500 million. [1]
"They've more or less confirmed what we knew all along," said Steve
Heminger, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission. "The issue that remains that neither they nor we know is
what will be the final cost."
BATN note: then-MTC Manager of Legislation and Governmental Affairs
Heminger repeatedly insisted during the "Bay Bridge Design Taskforce"
"process" of 1997-1999 that East Span replacement, as proposed by
Caltrans and the interest-conflicted consultants associated with the
panel, was the only (politically or fiscally) acceptable
alternative, and justified this by reference to Caltrans' budget
estimates, which at the time and subsequently he showed no qualms
whatsoever in portraying as "final costs". [2]
The cost of steel on the eastern half of the Bay Bridge rose $244
million. Transportation experts familiar with the project say this is
a consequence of Gov. Gray Davis' decision to start a Buy America
program on the bridge and seek federal bridge funds. Ultimately, the
federal government kicked in $642 million. [3]
View a full copy of the state Auditor's report.
Posted by dc at August 11, 2002 02:33 PM