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405 stuck in slow lane - L.A. Times Reprint
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Larry Scholnick
Apr 25, 2013, 10:41:35 PM4/25/13
to
The project will take a year longer than first planned
BY MARTHA GROVES
Elon Musk quips that it’s easier getting rockets into orbit than
navigating his commute between home in Bel-Air and his Space
Exploration Technologies factory in Hawthorne.
“The 405 … varies from bad to horrendous,” said Musk, who also
cofounded PayPal and Tesla Motors. “It just seems people in Los
Angeles are being tortured by this.... I don’t know why they aren’t
marching in the streets.”
The massive project to widen the 405 Freeway is not only causing
traffic nightmares for motorists like Musk but has also been plagued
by cost overruns and delays.
Transportation officials say the project is now slated to take at
least a year longer than first anticipated and cost about $100 million
more than the originally budgeted $1billion.
The companies handling the work won kudos when they were able to
reopen the freeway ahead of schedule during the so-called Carmageddon
events in 2011 and 2012..But that masked a larger problem for the main
contractor, Kiewit, and the subcontractors.
Officials now aim to complete the bulk of the project by June 2014,
with work on the problematic middle segment between Montana Avenue and
Sunset Boulevard lasting perhaps until next fall, according to Michael
Barbour, the veteran engineer overseeing the project for the L.A.
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Kiewit has said “it
could go as far as September,” Barbour said, “but we think we’re ahead
of that.”
The delays and cost overruns are raising the ire of both residents
and local officials, who say the project is caus- ing major
disruptions throughout the already traffic-clogged Westside.
“This project has been horribly managed,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, Los
Angeles County supervisor and board member of Metro, which is running
the project. “The performance of contractors has left a lot to be
desired.... They’ve shown a complete lack of sensitivity and empathy
for the community in which they’re doing the work.”
Asked why he and other elected officials have not publicly prodded
the contractor to enlist more workers and equipment to speed the
project, Yaroslavsky said: “Where’s the money going to come from? This
project is over budget by a considerable amount, and Metro hasn’t
figured out how it’s going to cover the cost overruns, let alone incur
additional costs.”
Several factors have driven the delays, including the structural
failure of miles of new sound walls that had to be demolished and
rebuilt, a legal wrangle over the placement of ramps near the Getty
Center and the complex logistics of finding and relocating more than a
dozen utility lines under Sepulveda Boulevard.
All the while, Kiewit was instructed to keep traffic moving on one
of the nation’s busiest highways.
Kiewit released a statement Wednesday defending its work.
“The costs and schedule impacts are the result of the project’s
overall complexity and the significant challenges associated with
multiple unexpected utility and right-of-way issues,” the firm said.
“Kiewit and Metro are committed to working together to minimize future
delays and resolve final costs. We ... are committed to delivering the
highest-quality product on the I-405 project.”
Metro said some of the problems, such as the utility lines and
legal issues over where ramps should be placed, were out of the
contractor’s control.
The 405, which carries about 300,000 vehicles a day, is a vital
north-south artery known for epic jam-ups under the best of
circumstances.
In a bid to ease that notorious congestion, Metro and the
California Department of Transportation four years ago began
preliminary work on the final 10-mile leg of a carpool lane through
the Sepulveda Pass. In addition to completing the northbound HOV link
between Orange County and the San Fernando Valley, the project called
for building new on-and off-ramps, demolishing and rebuilding three
bridges and adding miles of retaining and sound walls.
At the time, officials forecast completion by spring 2013 — right
about now. The timeline was later nudged to December 2013.
But after last fall’s Carmageddon II shutdown and countless other
smaller and seemingly unpredictable closures, earthmovers, backhoes, K-
rails and neon-vested workers are still much in evidence. Residents
and businesses have met the further delays with moans, groans and a
measure of resignation.
Nancy Z. Freedman, chairwoman of the Brentwood Community Council,
read three chapters of “The Hare With Amber Eyes” while crawling two-
thirds of a mile along viscous Sunset Boulevard from Kenter Avenue to
Barrington Avenue. “The traffic did not move,” she said.
Sol Kahen, owner of Western Electric Supply near the Santa Monica
Boulevard entrance to the 405, said road blocks and surly work crews
have damaged his business.
He has repeatedly called 405 project representatives to complain.
“They don’t care,” he said. “Sometimes they let my customers go
through the cones. Sometimes they were really mean.”
Kahen, 68, who lives in Woodland Hills, stays at work until 8 p.m.
many nights to avoid the worst traffic through the Sepulveda Pass.
As for Musk, he leaves his SpaceX office near LAX 90 minutes before
his five sons hit the sack at 8:30 p.m., but they’re usually asleep by
the time he has slogged through the 405 construction zone and arrived
home.
Fed up, he decided to throw money at the problem.
Last July, he met David Murphy, a Westwood resident, who heads
Angelenos Against Gridlock, a group seeking to hasten the development
and repair of infrastructure in California and nationwide. The two
shared traffic frustrations, and Musk contributed $50,000 toward an
effort to hurry the 405 project along.
So far they have little to show for it.
In an interview, Musk said he’d be open to paying the costs of
adding workers to the project “as a contribution to the city and my
own happiness. If it can actually make a difference, I would gladly
contribute funds and ideas. I’ve super had it.”
Metro’s Barbour emphasized the positives. The 405 project is two-
thirds complete, he said. Wilshire Boulevard has new on- and off-
ramps. A new, wider Sunset bridge is open, and drivers now have two
lanes instead of one to merge onto the northbound 405 from the
westbound 10 Freeway. The Skirball Cultural Center has a new on-ramp,
and miles of sound walls and retaining walls have gone up. Metro will
continue to open the project in phases so motorists can benefit from
improvements when they are ready, he said.
Still, Yaroslavsky said he empathizes with affected motorists and
residents.
“I totally understand the frustrations of people who live there and
have to travel through there and get up in the middle of the night
when jackhammers are going,” he said. “It’s just been a nightmare for
everyone.”
As for who will bear fiscal responsibility for the cost overruns
and delays, he said, “this is going to be fought out between the
contractors and Metro for quite some time.”
BY MARTHA GROVES
Elon Musk quips that it’s easier getting rockets into orbit than
navigating his commute between home in Bel-Air and his Space
Exploration Technologies factory in Hawthorne.
“The 405 … varies from bad to horrendous,” said Musk, who also
cofounded PayPal and Tesla Motors. “It just seems people in Los
Angeles are being tortured by this.... I don’t know why they aren’t
marching in the streets.”
The massive project to widen the 405 Freeway is not only causing
traffic nightmares for motorists like Musk but has also been plagued
by cost overruns and delays.
Transportation officials say the project is now slated to take at
least a year longer than first anticipated and cost about $100 million
more than the originally budgeted $1billion.
The companies handling the work won kudos when they were able to
reopen the freeway ahead of schedule during the so-called Carmageddon
events in 2011 and 2012..But that masked a larger problem for the main
contractor, Kiewit, and the subcontractors.
Officials now aim to complete the bulk of the project by June 2014,
with work on the problematic middle segment between Montana Avenue and
Sunset Boulevard lasting perhaps until next fall, according to Michael
Barbour, the veteran engineer overseeing the project for the L.A.
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Kiewit has said “it
could go as far as September,” Barbour said, “but we think we’re ahead
of that.”
The delays and cost overruns are raising the ire of both residents
and local officials, who say the project is caus- ing major
disruptions throughout the already traffic-clogged Westside.
“This project has been horribly managed,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, Los
Angeles County supervisor and board member of Metro, which is running
the project. “The performance of contractors has left a lot to be
desired.... They’ve shown a complete lack of sensitivity and empathy
for the community in which they’re doing the work.”
Asked why he and other elected officials have not publicly prodded
the contractor to enlist more workers and equipment to speed the
project, Yaroslavsky said: “Where’s the money going to come from? This
project is over budget by a considerable amount, and Metro hasn’t
figured out how it’s going to cover the cost overruns, let alone incur
additional costs.”
Several factors have driven the delays, including the structural
failure of miles of new sound walls that had to be demolished and
rebuilt, a legal wrangle over the placement of ramps near the Getty
Center and the complex logistics of finding and relocating more than a
dozen utility lines under Sepulveda Boulevard.
All the while, Kiewit was instructed to keep traffic moving on one
of the nation’s busiest highways.
Kiewit released a statement Wednesday defending its work.
“The costs and schedule impacts are the result of the project’s
overall complexity and the significant challenges associated with
multiple unexpected utility and right-of-way issues,” the firm said.
“Kiewit and Metro are committed to working together to minimize future
delays and resolve final costs. We ... are committed to delivering the
highest-quality product on the I-405 project.”
Metro said some of the problems, such as the utility lines and
legal issues over where ramps should be placed, were out of the
contractor’s control.
The 405, which carries about 300,000 vehicles a day, is a vital
north-south artery known for epic jam-ups under the best of
circumstances.
In a bid to ease that notorious congestion, Metro and the
California Department of Transportation four years ago began
preliminary work on the final 10-mile leg of a carpool lane through
the Sepulveda Pass. In addition to completing the northbound HOV link
between Orange County and the San Fernando Valley, the project called
for building new on-and off-ramps, demolishing and rebuilding three
bridges and adding miles of retaining and sound walls.
At the time, officials forecast completion by spring 2013 — right
about now. The timeline was later nudged to December 2013.
But after last fall’s Carmageddon II shutdown and countless other
smaller and seemingly unpredictable closures, earthmovers, backhoes, K-
rails and neon-vested workers are still much in evidence. Residents
and businesses have met the further delays with moans, groans and a
measure of resignation.
Nancy Z. Freedman, chairwoman of the Brentwood Community Council,
read three chapters of “The Hare With Amber Eyes” while crawling two-
thirds of a mile along viscous Sunset Boulevard from Kenter Avenue to
Barrington Avenue. “The traffic did not move,” she said.
Sol Kahen, owner of Western Electric Supply near the Santa Monica
Boulevard entrance to the 405, said road blocks and surly work crews
have damaged his business.
He has repeatedly called 405 project representatives to complain.
“They don’t care,” he said. “Sometimes they let my customers go
through the cones. Sometimes they were really mean.”
Kahen, 68, who lives in Woodland Hills, stays at work until 8 p.m.
many nights to avoid the worst traffic through the Sepulveda Pass.
As for Musk, he leaves his SpaceX office near LAX 90 minutes before
his five sons hit the sack at 8:30 p.m., but they’re usually asleep by
the time he has slogged through the 405 construction zone and arrived
home.
Fed up, he decided to throw money at the problem.
Last July, he met David Murphy, a Westwood resident, who heads
Angelenos Against Gridlock, a group seeking to hasten the development
and repair of infrastructure in California and nationwide. The two
shared traffic frustrations, and Musk contributed $50,000 toward an
effort to hurry the 405 project along.
So far they have little to show for it.
In an interview, Musk said he’d be open to paying the costs of
adding workers to the project “as a contribution to the city and my
own happiness. If it can actually make a difference, I would gladly
contribute funds and ideas. I’ve super had it.”
Metro’s Barbour emphasized the positives. The 405 project is two-
thirds complete, he said. Wilshire Boulevard has new on- and off-
ramps. A new, wider Sunset bridge is open, and drivers now have two
lanes instead of one to merge onto the northbound 405 from the
westbound 10 Freeway. The Skirball Cultural Center has a new on-ramp,
and miles of sound walls and retaining walls have gone up. Metro will
continue to open the project in phases so motorists can benefit from
improvements when they are ready, he said.
Still, Yaroslavsky said he empathizes with affected motorists and
residents.
“I totally understand the frustrations of people who live there and
have to travel through there and get up in the middle of the night
when jackhammers are going,” he said. “It’s just been a nightmare for
everyone.”
As for who will bear fiscal responsibility for the cost overruns
and delays, he said, “this is going to be fought out between the
contractors and Metro for quite some time.”
Stop-IL-TollwayRipoffs
Apr 30, 2013, 7:10:17 PM4/30/13
to
On Apr 25, 9:41 pm, Larry Scholnick <larry_scholn...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Asked why he and other elected officials have not publicly prodded
> the contractor to enlist more workers and equipment to speed the
> project, Yaroslavsky said: “Where’s the money going to come from? This
> project is over budget by a considerable amount, and Metro hasn’t
> figured out how it’s going to cover the cost overruns, let alone incur
> additional costs.”
I don't see the "extra cost" from paying for more workers up front to
>
> Asked why he and other elected officials have not publicly prodded
> the contractor to enlist more workers and equipment to speed the
> project, Yaroslavsky said: “Where’s the money going to come from? This
> project is over budget by a considerable amount, and Metro hasn’t
> figured out how it’s going to cover the cost overruns, let alone incur
> additional costs.”
complete work segments. The same work needs to be completed now or
later.
jgar the jorrible
May 1, 2013, 12:40:30 PM5/1/13
to
On Apr 30, 4:10 pm, Stop-IL-TollwayRipoffs <jgrov...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
The costs aren't linear. There are extra incremental costs to hiring
more workers, as well as paying overtime when there aren't enough
workers, and you have to pay them even when they are standing around
playing "switch" because they have to wait for other tasks to complete
before they can do theirs. The payments also are made after the work
is done, in bursts. So the contractors have to minimize their costs,
which is a risky business, and of course any change orders are going
to be charged. Starting and stopping work also has costs, sometimes
there are alternative methods of doing things, so it isn't necessarily
going to be the exact same work.
It's not like you turn on the tap and work comes out.
There's also the time value of money, and the budgeted and actual
costs for government work is its own polygon of accounting hell.
It's not the best system, but it could easily be a lot worse. And
who's going to pay more to make it better?
jg
--
@home.com is bogus.
http://www.cbs8.com/story/22128988/new-lanes-open-wednesday-along-sr-78
wrote:
more workers, as well as paying overtime when there aren't enough
workers, and you have to pay them even when they are standing around
playing "switch" because they have to wait for other tasks to complete
before they can do theirs. The payments also are made after the work
is done, in bursts. So the contractors have to minimize their costs,
which is a risky business, and of course any change orders are going
to be charged. Starting and stopping work also has costs, sometimes
there are alternative methods of doing things, so it isn't necessarily
going to be the exact same work.
It's not like you turn on the tap and work comes out.
There's also the time value of money, and the budgeted and actual
costs for government work is its own polygon of accounting hell.
It's not the best system, but it could easily be a lot worse. And
who's going to pay more to make it better?
jg
--
@home.com is bogus.
http://www.cbs8.com/story/22128988/new-lanes-open-wednesday-along-sr-78
jgar the jorrible
May 1, 2013, 12:47:46 PM5/1/13
to
On Apr 25, 7:41 pm, Larry Scholnick <larry_scholn...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> The project will take a year longer than first planned
>
> BY MARTHA GROVES
>
> Elon Musk quips that it’s easier getting rockets into orbit than
> navigating his commute between home in Bel-Air and his Space
> Exploration Technologies factory in Hawthorne.
>
> “The 405 … varies from bad to horrendous,” said Musk, who also
> cofounded PayPal and Tesla Motors. “It just seems people in Los
> Angeles are being tortured by this.... I don’t know why they aren’t
> marching in the streets.”
>
> The project will take a year longer than first planned
>
> BY MARTHA GROVES
>
> Elon Musk quips that it’s easier getting rockets into orbit than
> navigating his commute between home in Bel-Air and his Space
> Exploration Technologies factory in Hawthorne.
>
> “The 405 … varies from bad to horrendous,” said Musk, who also
> cofounded PayPal and Tesla Motors. “It just seems people in Los
> Angeles are being tortured by this.... I don’t know why they aren’t
> marching in the streets.”
>
> As for Musk, he leaves his SpaceX office near LAX 90 minutes before
> his five sons hit the sack at 8:30 p.m., but they’re usually asleep by
> the time he has slogged through the 405 construction zone and arrived
> home.
>
> Fed up, he decided to throw money at the problem.
>
> Last July, he met David Murphy, a Westwood resident, who heads
> Angelenos Against Gridlock, a group seeking to hasten the development
> and repair of infrastructure in California and nationwide. The two
> shared traffic frustrations, and Musk contributed $50,000 toward an
> effort to hurry the 405 project along.
>
> So far they have little to show for it.
>
> In an interview, Musk said he’d be open to paying the costs of
> adding workers to the project “as a contribution to the city and my
> own happiness. If it can actually make a difference, I would gladly
> contribute funds and ideas. I’ve super had it.”
>
Hey Elon, why don't you do like all the other south bay executives,
> his five sons hit the sack at 8:30 p.m., but they’re usually asleep by
> the time he has slogged through the 405 construction zone and arrived
> home.
>
> Fed up, he decided to throw money at the problem.
>
> Last July, he met David Murphy, a Westwood resident, who heads
> Angelenos Against Gridlock, a group seeking to hasten the development
> and repair of infrastructure in California and nationwide. The two
> shared traffic frustrations, and Musk contributed $50,000 toward an
> effort to hurry the 405 project along.
>
> So far they have little to show for it.
>
> In an interview, Musk said he’d be open to paying the costs of
> adding workers to the project “as a contribution to the city and my
> own happiness. If it can actually make a difference, I would gladly
> contribute funds and ideas. I’ve super had it.”
>
move to PV. Hell, you could convert one of your new neighbor
Robertson helicopters to electricity and not even bother all the other
neighbors with the noise.
Geez, $50K on a $1B project, that's gonna hurry along a whole lot of
nuthin'.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/30/13-year-old-drives-dads-car/
Stop-IL-TollwayRipoffs
May 3, 2013, 9:08:40 PM5/3/13
to
'em; so there is no issue with incremental costs.
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