COUNTYWIDE : Grand Jury Studies Progress at Airport

For the third time since the troubled $310-million John Wayne Airport expansion project began two years ago, a grand jury is investigating whether the county’s biggest-ever public works project is on track.

County officials said the Orange County Grand Jury has entered into a $25,000 contract with Coopers & Lybrand, a Newport Beach management consulting firm, for a project performance audit.

Steve Roush of Coopers & Lybrand, who is supervising the audit, said it would try to determine how much money has been spent on the project so far, how much is going to be spent by the time it’s completed, and whether the planned Sept. 15 opening day for the new passenger terminal--nearly six months behind schedule already--is realistic.

“The real purpose or concern expressed by members of the grand jury,” Roush said, “is for us to give them a model for large capital projects that the county might do in the future. The thrust is to be prospective.”

Roush said the audit does not involve assessing blame for past mistakes.

Two project reviews by the previous grand jury warned county officials that the new airport terminal would not open on April 1 as scheduled, despite frequent denials from the airport staff and HPV, a consulting firm hired by the county to manage the project.

However, those same reviews concluded that architectural and cost estimating errors that led to a massive redesign effort could be handled within the $310-million expansion program budget.

The new terminal has been plagued by controversy since the low bid came in at $17 million over the county’s original $42-million budget for that structure in mid-1988.

The expansion program also includes new parking garages, roads, freeway ramps and airfield improvements.