Cities Didn’t Bargain on Delays in Caltrans Projects

In 1986, when cities in Orange County began contracting with Caltrans to make highway improvements, they diverted some of the preliminary work to private consultants in an effort to speed things up.

But projects haven’t necessarily proceeded quickly, as was clear Monday when the Orange County Transportation Commission reviewed a report on nine Caltrans projects whose bid advertising has been delayed. Of the nine delays, five resulted from the consultants’ inability to meet Caltrans work deadlines, according to the report.

Stan Oftelie, the commission’s executive director, said the cities involved, and Caltrans itself, must share the blame. He added that reliance on contracts with private consultants may not be the answer to timely completion of the transportation projects.

“Contracting out isn’t going to be a magical solution to Caltrans project-delivery problems,” Oftelie said. “It’s a help. But it’s not going to be a magic wand.”

The nine projects reviewed Monday are among 20 Caltrans projects being undertaken throughout the county.

Caltrans’s Inexperience

Oftelie and others familiar with the work process said Monday that a big reason for the delays is Caltrans’s relative inexperience in working with contractors.

“One area where they guessed wrong,” Oftelie said, “is how much time would be saved through contracting out. They were not recognizing how long it would take for a city to issue a contract.”

Caltrans spokesman Albert Miranda said the contracting process was “a whole new ballgame for all of us.” But he added that once the problems are ironed out, “we know that having consultants working for us will expedite the entire process.”

Another reason for the delays is that completing Caltrans projects “is not a high priority” for the cities involved, said Lisa Mills, OCTC’s manager of planning and programming.

Les Evans, Huntington Beach’s chief engineer, disagreed with Mills, although he acknowledged that his city slowed one Caltrans project by making its insurance liability requirements too stringent. “Some of these projects could be a higher priority for the cities than they are for Caltrans,” Evans said, noting that Huntington Beach is eager to see Pacific Coast Highway widened.

‘Nature of the Beast’

Of the four projects not delayed by consultants, three have been set back by design changes during Caltrans’s review. Such changes by Caltrans are “the nature of the beast,” said William Stracker, vice president of BSI Consultants Inc. of Santa Ana, which has done work for cities throughout the county.

Of the nine projects discussed Monday, the five affected by consultant delays are:

- Pacific Coast Highway widening between Beach Boulevard and Golden West Street, delayed eight months after Caltrans required extensive changes during review, forcing the consultant’s delay in submitting final plans.

- Pacific Coast Highway widening between Brookhurst Street and Beach Boulevard. Huntington Beach and its consultant have delayed bid advertising by seven months.

- Santa Ana Freeway-Jeffrey Road interchange reconstruction, delayed eight months by unresolved right-of-way issues.

- Costa Mesa Freeway bridge and road widening between 32nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway, delayed 10 months because more extensive study is needed.

- Costa Mesa Freeway extension between Bristol and Wilson streets, delayed three months due to a bridge design request by Costa Mesa.

Other delayed projects are:

- Santa Ana Freeway-Costa Mesa Freeway interchange Phase 3 reconstruction, delayed three months because of the initial, unrealistic work schedule.

- Coast Highway widening between Newport Boulevard and Orange Street in Newport Beach, delayed eight months after redesign affected right-of-way boundaries.

- Pacific Coast Highway bridge widening between Orange Street in Newport Beach and Brookhurst Street in Huntington Beach, delayed seven months after redesign required additional right-of-way.

- Ortega Highway widening between Avenida Siega and La Pata, delayed four months after redesign to avoid historical property.