OCTA takes a look at itself

Deirdre Newman

Construction problems on a carpool connector between the San Diego

and the Costa Mesa Freeways inspired the Orange County Transportation

Authority to examine its management approach.

It hired an independent assessment team to study the relationship

between the authority, Caltrans and a variety of third party

contractors on recent construction projects. The authority board

received an action plan based on the study on Aug. 25 and directed

its staff to work with Caltrans on the recommendations.

While the study did not find any significant flaws in the

management approach, it did recommend the development of an overall

management plan for the next decade so the authority can continue to

successfully oversee the Measure M freeway improvement program. The

program is based on the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in

1990 to fund transportation improvements in Orange County.

Officials from both the authority and Caltrans say they are

pleased with the results of the study.”The report gives both agencies

an opportunity to enhance our business relationship and strengthen

our business practices,” said Pam Gorniak, Caltrans spokeswoman. “We

look forward to working with [the authority] on an action plan to

address the recommendations of the report.”

Construction on the connector came to a grinding halt in August,

2002 when crews discovered patches of concrete had cracked and fallen

off interior girders that support two of the road’s three sections.

The bridge will cost about $3 million to repair and is anticipated to

open by the end of the year, said Michael Litschi, authority

spokesman.

A host of factors is suspected of causing the damage, including

irregularly spaced steel reinforcing bars, thin concrete and too much

tension on supporting cables through the middle of the span’s

concrete girders. Caltrans’ design parameters may also have

contributed to the problems.

Some of the significant recommendations of the study include

exploring ways to have a single agency be responsible for project

delivery, rather than splitting responsibilities between the two

entities; using qualified, licensed civil engineers as chief

engineers and project engineers on all authority projects; and

maintaining open and ongoing communication between the authority and

Caltrans at the local level.

“We need Caltrans to do these projects and we fund the projects so

we have a symbiotic relationship for these projects to be

successful,” said Dinah Minteer, manager of construction services at

OCTA. “There’s always room to improve our relationship and we think

this will improve our working relationship with Caltrans.”

Caltrans officials believe having a single agency responsible for

project delivery is imperative to eliminate third party contractors

who are not accountable for their work.

For that to happen, the authority could either give Caltrans an

entire project or the authority could contract directly for

construction projects, which may require either legislative authority

or a joint powers authority.