The Assembly and
Senate Transportation Committees have begun a series of hearings to
address the implementation of Proposition 1B, the voter-approved
November bond measure that authorized an additional $20 billion for
transportation in California. The California Transportation
Commission selected projects to spend the first $4.5 billion on
State Highways. The initial Legislative hearings addressed the
ability of the construction industry, materials, suppliers, and the
engineering community to deliver the projects on schedule.
The following
video shows Caltrans Director Will Kempton testifying at the
Assembly Transportation Committee hearing, followed by comments from
Mr. Kempton and a presentation by PECG Executive Assistant Bruce
Blanning at the Senate Transportation Committee hearing the
following day. In the testimony, Director Kempton requested
that Caltrans be given design-build authority by the Legislature;
Mr. Blanning emphasized the need for Caltrans to begin hiring
engineers and the economic and public policy drawbacks of
outsourcing and design-build.
