Do you think the Delta Tunnels are a good deal, like Governor Jerry Brown, Natural Resources Secretary John Laird and other tunnel promoters do? Then Restore the Delta said, "We’ve got a (Bay) Bridge to sell you."
California has a terrible track record with giant public works projects going massively over-budget. As state officials continue to pursue their $15-billion vision of a tunnel system that shunts water to corporate agribusiness interests in the San Joaquin Valley, keep that history in mind.
On Friday, Restore the Delta (RTD) released a side-by-side comparison of two massive public works projects in California that looks at the promised costs, seismic risks, outsourcing, and lack of transparency and oversight.
You can view the comparison here: http://restorethedelta.org/...
The similarities of the projects are notable, according to RTD.
"Both projects were sold to Californian taxpayers as a necessary investment in our future. But as with all public works projects, the costs and time to complete these projects were vastly underestimated in the end," the group said.
Among the items in the comparison are:
• Initially, the Bay Bridge Replacement was estimated to cost $1.5 billion by CalTrans with a seven-year construction period. Construction actually took fourteen years and cost $6.4 billion.
• The Delta Tunnels project will reportedly cost $15 billion. But that does not include interest, operation costs, or allowance for cost overruns that could push the price tag up to $60 billion. The project's construction time has already been extended from 10 to 14 years.
• Senior officials who oversaw construction of the Bay Bridge repeatedly and deliberately brushed off criticism about construction problems in what amounted to an "institutionalized lack of transparency," said RTD.
• For the Tunnels project, the Department of Water Resources awarded an $11.4 million no-bid contract to the Hallmark Group in 2012 for the Design Center Entity housed within the Department with no public oversight.
“Support for the Jerry Brown’s Delta Tunnels is collapsing even among water districts who would pay the majority of the costs," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. "Californians are wary of big public works projects because these never seem to turn out as planned."
"The ongoing fiasco of the new Bay Bridge should concern everyone who cares about California’s infrastructure. We should not give a free pass to agencies who have a history of failure and overspending," she concluded.
Contacts:
Brian Smith, 415-320-9384, brian@bpspr.com
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209/479-2053 barbara@restorethedelta.org; Twitter:@RestoretheDelta