According to an NBC report by Jaxon Van Derbeken, “Caltrans is investigating whether microscopic organisms are attacking critical welds on the submerged foundation of the new Bay Bridge tower, potentially endangering the projected 150-year lifespan of the troubled $6.4 billion structure.” Brian Maroney, Caltrans’ chief engineer on the project, told NBC that experts report…
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Two years ago, California’s Legislative Analyst learned that 3,500 Caltrans engineers were doing little more than sitting at their desks and sought to eliminate those positions. Caltrans bosses cried foul and so did Bruce Blanning, executive director of Professional Engineers in California Government. As the union boss told reporters the Legislative Analyst was “childish,”…
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California governor Jerry Brown has signed off on a $5.2 billion deal that will raise the tax on gasoline, raise the tax on diesel and raise user fees on motorists. Before the Memorial Day weekend, Brown ranted that those who complain about this tax hike are “freeloaders.” This doesn’t deserve a response, but taxpayers…
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As any motorist can easily verify, California’s roads are a disaster. Governor Brown and the legislature are running to the rescue with a $5.2 billion deal that will raise the tax on gasoline, raise the tax on diesel and raise user fees on motorists. California taxpayers, the most embattled in the nation, have good…
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After the 2016 election, California governor Jerry Brown showed signs of early onset Trump Derangement Syndrome, pledging resistance and warning that California would “launch its own damn satellite” if President Trump backed off on climate research. On his trip to Washington this week, Brown toned down the defiance and held out the begging bowl….
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Back in 2013, some 8,000 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rallied at the California state capitol in Sacramento chanting, “We’re letting them know this is our house!” In 2012, the government employee unions had helped elect big-government, tax-hiking politicians such as Jerry Brown, and they were now clamoring for more money…
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The California Department of Transportation has been rebuilding parts of Interstate 80 between the city of Auburn and the Nevada state line. Part of this work was the elevation of bridges to 16 feet 6 inches above the road surface so they can accommodate larger trucks. The final project, completed in March, was the…
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This column tracks government waste, fraud and abuse, and on rare occasions, so does government itself. For example, a new report from California State Auditor Elaine Howle finds that “Caltrans’ weak cost controls over field maintenance work orders create opportunities for fraud, waste, and abuse.” Caltrans division of maintenance, the report says, “paid $250,000…
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The California Department of Transportation hired Alex Morales III as statewide coordinator for compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As Jim Miller notes in the Sacramento Bee, Mr. Morales III, who was paid a base salary of $74,912, has been arrested for allegedly accepting “at least $100,000 in bribes, including an…
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California’s roads are an obstacle course of potholes and as Foon Rhee of the Sacramento Bee notes “the repair backlog is estimated at $78 billion for local roads and another $59 billion for state highways.” The rough roads are also highly congested but the massive California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is not eager to…
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