Title: FUNDING PROBLEMS KEEP BAY AREA SPAN PLAN IN SUSPENSE
Abstract: A single bid for $1.4 billion is what California officials may have to accept if the replacement East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is to be built. Faced with a deadline date of September 30 ,2004, the state is looking for additional funding to finance construction costs which have nearly doubled from the California Department of Transportation's (Caltrans's) original estimate of $740 million. Legislators contend that unless the funding source has been clearly identified, the contract will have to be rebid, and that brings concerns of a year-long delay and more cost increases. A report issued by Caltrans, surveying the retrofit program for all seven of the state's toll bridges, cites a number of factors contributing to the cost increases on the East Span. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed shifting financial responsibility for the bridge from Caltrans to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional agency overseeing the planning and financial operations of the 9- county Bay Area transportation network. With the state balking at its financial commitment to the project, and the possibility of hitting motorists with yet another toll increase, state officials are at odds as to which way to turn. Although the Skyway, a concrete viaduct comprising a major portion of the East Span is already more than halfway complete, the prospects for a seismic-retrofitted Bay Bridge East Span in the near future are looking dim.
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-08-30
Language: en
Type: article
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