[BATN] "Fixing infrastructure" sure sounds like a good idea Date: 07 Jan 2006 11:39:22 -0800 X-Fingerprint: sentto-2486642-28192-1136690025-news=energy-net.org@returns.groups.yahoo.com-69.50 Published Saturday, January 7, 2006, in the Contra Contra Times Few oppose fixing California's infrastructure By George Avalos Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting plenty of kudos from the construction industry as he embarks on his quest to become the 21st century's version of Pat Brown. As currently outlined, Schwarzenegger's $222 billion bond program to reconstruct California and reshape the Golden State's politics would be the largest statewide public works program since the 1960s. That's when then-Gov. Edmund "Pat" Brown orchestrated a massive building effort designed to help California accommodate a post-war boom. This time around, the construction will be geared primarily to help California catch up to relentless growth that has outstripped the Golden State's transportation, water, sewer and school systems. "This is a huge building program that will take many years to accomplish," said Jill Sideman, Oakland-based vice president and area manager for the Bay Area with CH2M Hill Inc., an engineering and construction firm. "It's very ambitious, but we're excited that there are potential opportunities to rebuild the state's infrastructure, which is in desperate need." Political and business leaders believe there is plenty to do. But some officials cite the sorry state of California's roads and highways as perhaps the biggest problem to tackle. "Transportation is chronically behind the curve in California," said Douglas Dahlin, president of Dahlin Group, a San Ramon-based architecture and planning firm. Even worse, traffic woes have unleashed other problems for California to confront, a kind of economic domino effect. "A lack of transportation leads not only to restraints on housing development in particular, but also is what drives a really a antagonistic attitude toward new homes being built," Dahlin said. "Even just based on internal growth rates, there is going to be strong growth in California. There will be even more when you take migration into the state into account." Supporters of bond measures to upgrade California argue that the East Bay is one of those urban centers that will require considerable work, especially in transportation and water facilities. "Our infrastructure is in great disarray," said Richard Gates, president of Dublin-based DeSilva Gates Construction. "There is a need for an immediate upgrade." If voters approve the bond measures that will be needed to launch the building spree, the next steps would primarily be undertaken by the political and bureaucratic apparatus to distribute the funds and launch projects locally. Some construction leaders are confident that the proposals will attract strong bipartisan support since they are not lightning rods like some of the governor's defeated proposals from 2005. "It's not a question of whether a voter likes or dislikes the teachers union," said Jerry Overaa, chief executive with Richmond-based Overaa Construction. "It will be a no-brainer. Every driver will realize this will help. And people will realize this will make California more competitive. It might stop a little of the industrial flight." Business executives believe local officials will be highly motivated to move projects off the drawing boards. "These bond measures will infuse a lot of capital into local and state construction budgets, but they will also generate a lot of excitement from the public works sector," said Tom Wintch, a regional manager for the Bay Area with the Oakland office of T. Y. Lin International, an engineering firm. [BATN: and frausters who, as MTC and Caltrans' in-house "engineers" for the "Bay Bridge Design Task Force" and "design competition", are neck-deep in the FIVE BILLION DOLLAR cost overrrun.] Dennis Oliver, a spokesman for the California Alliance for Jobs, which has been a prime mover in urging this sort of work, said getting started can't come too soon. He believes California outgrew its infrastructure long ago. "Right now we are squeezing a Size 10 foot into a Size 7 shoe," Oliver said. "We have to get serious about investing in these things." George Avalos covers the economy, financial markets, insurance and banks. You can reach him at 925-977-8477 or gavalos@cctimes.com Email article texts/URLs for posting to . Manage your subscription by sending a blank email message to: BATN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe, BATN-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com to unsubscribe, BATN-digest@yahoogroups.com to switch email to digest mode, BATN-normal@yahoogroups.com to switch email to normal mode, BATN-nomail@yahoogroups.com to switch email delivery off. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN for web access & archives.