Caltrans selected as California Construction’s Owner of the Year

Caltrans’ positive relationship with contractors means more stimulus-funded opportunities

By Robert Carlsen

The California Department of Transportation was busy even before the state and nation entered into a recession.

But now, with a struggling state economy, high unemployment rates and thousands of idle construction employees, Caltrans will need to provide more work, more opportunities and, potentially, more jobs for California workers.

Caltrans’ positive relationship with contractors and its new position as one of the leaders in providing stimulus package funding has prompted the editorial staff of California Construction Magazine to name it the Owner of the Year 2009.

In the coming months, Caltrans will be gearing up for opening bids to not only the big, stimulus- and bond-funded highway and bridge projects, but also its annual highway maintenance program, which uses about $200 million annually.

Caltrans is rearranging statewide personnel to handle what is expected to be an unprecedented number of contract awards, says Richard “Rick” Land, Caltrans’ chief engineer and deputy director for project delivery.

“We could be advertising 25 projects a week and maybe up to 40 on the busier periods,” says the 28-year Caltrans veteran. “We need to get the right resources ready to handle this.”

Getting the projects and bid requirements solidified is the major goal, he says.

“The goal of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to get work and jobs going quickly,” says Land. “And we intend to do this in an intelligent manner with high accountability standards.”

Land says staff is reviewing spending information on a regular basis and will issue reports to oversight entities, such as the California Federal Economic Stimulus Task Force, which was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month.

With the passage in 2002 of Proposition 42, Land says the governor and legislature have put a priority on transportation projects in the state. In fact, more money has been allocated for these infrastructure projects in the last three years – more than $4 billion – than ever before.

advertisement

Caltrans has also worked to improve its relationship with contractors. Its Industry Capacity Expansion Effort program, formed three years ago, gets Caltrans officials, contractors and suppliers together for regular meetings and to improve communication.

“There is no doubt that the construction industry will play a major role in improving our state’s infrastructure and we welcome them,” he says. “The [2006 voter approved] Proposition 1B projects are a drop in the bucket compared to our needs.”

Finding the best qualified contractor for these projects is a challenge Caltrans is up to, Land says.

“A couple of years ago, we had five to six bidders per project contract,” he says. “Eighteen months ago it was up to eight bidders. Nine months ago it was 8.8. And most of our recent bids have been 22.3% below target.”