Deal Delays 91 Freeway Work for 15 Years

Jose Medina, the director of Caltrans, has put off safety improvements on the 91 Freeway in Orange County for at least 15 years by settling a controversial lawsuit without following the normal practice of consulting his bosses, including the governor and the secretary of transportation.

The improvement project, in the planning stages for more than two years, would have added two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane near existing toll lanes, where dangerous weaving had been noticed. In one area, for example, accidents increased by 124% after the private toll lanes opened in the median.

Although more than $30 million had been secured to do the work, Medina scrapped the plans in October--delaying work originally scheduled to start later this year. Now, because of the settlement, Caltrans must wait until traffic on the freeway increases by 53%--which is not expected to happen until 2015--before adding the new lanes near the border of Riverside and Orange counties.

Lawmakers have asked Medina to appear at a special Feb. 1 legislative hearing to explain why he rejected the safety improvements to settle a $100-million lawsuit with the operator of the private 91 Express Lanes. Settling that lawsuit cleared the way for the lanes to be sold to a nonprofit group, a deal that later was scuttled by top state officials after numerous questions arose. That proposed sale--and Medina’s approval of it--also are under legislative review.

Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago said Medina agreed to the settlement because the agency believed it was bound by previous contracts with the operator.

“The director made the determination to settle based on the facts--that in our judgment our chances of prevailing were not very good,” Drago said.

Medina declined to comment.

But his decision has troubled many state and local officials and led to new scrutiny of the little-known former San Francisco supervisor who had scant transportation experience before Gov. Gray Davis tapped him a year ago to lead a state agency of 20,000 employees and a $6-billion budget.

“There should have been a lot of eyes looking at this . . . there should have been more notice given,” said Assemblyman Dick Ackerman (R-Fullerton). “But nobody really looked at this until basically it was a done deal.”

At issue is why Medina approved the sale, which had been rejected by the previous administration after months of debate and study, and settled the lawsuit without consulting those in the best position to advise him, including:

* The governor’s office. Davis is known for insisting that his appointees consult with him on important matters.

“Obviously, Caltrans settled the lawsuit without running it through the normal agency channels,” said Hilary McLean, the governor’s spokeswoman. “The administration is still sorting out what happened and the implications.”

* The secretary of business, transportation and housing, Medina’s direct boss.

“[Medina] made the decision and we were not involved in it,” said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the Business, Transportation and Housing Department.

Medina’s failure to inform Secretary Maria Contreras-Sweet is curious, officials say, because her predecessor, Dean Dunphy, studied the transfer of the 91 Express Lanes to the same nonprofit company for months. The previous administration even hired an outside consultant to review the deal, which Medina never did.

Internal memos released Friday to legislators looking at the 91 toll lanes deal make it clear that under Dunphy, then-Director James van Loben Sels had involved his superiors in every step. Dunphy, who ultimately rejected the deal, even insisted that Gov. Pete Wilson’s office screen the deal.

* Caltrans’ chief legal counsel of seven years, William McMillan. McMillan could not say why the settlement was not run by him, but those who work in his office say he should have been consulted on a case of that magnitude. Under the previous Caltrans director, McMillan said he was included in every important legal case.

McMillan was told he was being removed from his position as the agency’s top attorney on the same day Medina approved the sale. McMillan, who still works at Caltrans, said he was given no specific reason, but he does not believe it was related to the toll lane deal. He declined further comment.

Joe Montoya, McMillan’s predecessor, said that when he served as chief counsel under three Caltrans directors, he was involved in reviewing every major legal decision.

“The directors I worked under decided they wanted it done that way,” Montoya said. “But each director has his own style. That may be normal for this administration but it was never done in my time.”

* Local officials who had pushed for the safety improvements. Riverside and Orange county officials were kept in the dark about the legal settlement and sale negotiations at the insistence of 91 Express Lanes operators. When the sale was proposed in 1998, Dunphy objected to “springing it” on the locals at the last minute. But local officials say they were kept out of the loop under Medina.

* Mike McManus, then-Caltrans director in Orange County. McManus was told his input was no longer needed five months after Medina took office, according to a source close to McManus. McManus had been unpopular with the toll lanes operator, the California Private Transportation Co. In a November 1998 letter to Caltrans, the operator’s lawyer said McManus was promoting roadwork that they believed violated their agreement.

McManus, who declined interview requests, was demoted the week after Medina settled the lawsuit.