New Caltrans Director Gives 'Sneak Preview' of 10-Year Plan

By Paul Napolitano

The new director of the California Dept. of Transportation, in his first speaking engagement as head of the state agency, emphasized the need for stronger partnerships with the engineering and construction community.

Will Kempton's "sneak preview" of Caltrans' 10-year implementation plan was delivered to an audience of about 100 members of the Southern California chapters of the Women's Transportation Seminar gathered Nov. 5 in downtown Los Angeles.

"I'm a true believer in partnerships," Kempton said. "That's a trite thing to say, but I think my track record demonstrates that I have a strong commitment to a true partnership environment at Caltrans, opening the door and having everyone coming to the table. That is the way we're going to do business at Caltrans. That has never been seen before."

Kempton, 57, was formerly assistant manager of the city of Folsom before being tapped for the Caltrans chief executive position last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He oversees 23,000 employees and a $10-billion budget at Caltrans.

"We need to address immediate concerns and band together to put together the resources that we need in terns of building a single voice of transportation for the state," the new director told the group at the Omni Hotel. "That's never been done before in California. By doing that, we can achieve success and have federal legislation crafted in a way that it is beneficial to the state. We have to be able to speak as a single voice."

He said creating effective transportation management systems by improving traveler information with techniques such as real-time technology is a top priority of the plan.

Kempton said $1 billion in fiscal 2004-05 would be generated for transportation projects after voters approved a ballot measure allowing the governor to substantially increase tax revenues received from Indian gaming facilities.

The governor's new Indian gaming agreement proposes $473 million for major construction and maintenance projects; $193 million for fund maintenance and construction on local streets and as much as $335 million to fund congestion relief projects.

"We estimate that these transportation projects will support 26,000 new jobs in California," Kempton said. "And for every dollar invested in transportation there's a ripple of four times over felt through the economy."

The slightly built, graying Kempton had the midday crowd chuckling when he said of his experience, "I've been in transportation a long time. You can see that by the color of my hair and the fact that I'm wearing these glasses."

Referring to the governor's announcement naming him to the post, Kempton said, "Standing next to someone like Schwarzenegger is a humbling experience for a guy my size."

Of a serious and more immediate concern will be the decision due later this month by a peer-review panel on what to do about the self-anchored replacement suspension bridge for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The initial construction cost was estimated at $1 billion, but that price tag has tripled in the last year due primarily to rising steel prices.

The panel is made up of transportation officials with extensive bridge-building experience, some of whom are in North Carolina and Wisconsin.

"We want people at the table to give us objective recommendations on what is the right thing to do," Kempton said. "People involved in this review effort will have no future association on the bridge. That's absolutely essential in assuring that objectivity."

WWCOT Nabs 2 New Projects

Santa Monica-based WWCOT Architects has been selected by the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging to provide architectural and engineering services for a 150,233-sq.-ft. senior living complex on the Home's Eisenberg campus in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. The project includes a 48,708-sq.-ft. subterranean garage.

The new Bross-Bresler Center is intended to appeal to independent seniors who do not yet need the full continuum of elder care provided by the JHA, which ranges from independent living to hospice care. The Center will have109 upscale one- and two-bedroom condominiums ranging in size from 800 to 1,300 sq. ft.

WWCOT was selected by Santa Monica College to design a new $30 million student services and administration building. The three-story, 86,000-sq.-ft. structure, which will include underground parking, will consolidate student services, administration, business services and information technology -- all currently located at various sites on and off the main campus.

Watson Land Awards Industrial Project to Snyder Langston

Snyder Langston's Industrial Building Group is scheduled to break ground this month in Carson on two industrial buildings at the Dominguez Technology Center, a 438-acre master-planned business center owned and developed by Watson Land Co., one of the largest developers of industrial properties in the nation.

The two spec buildings will be constructed at a cost of $10.3 million, said Scott Babcock, a project executive for Irvine-based Snyder Langston and head of its Industrial Building Group.
Designed by Irvine-based RGA Architects, the buildings are concrete tilt-up structures with office, mezzanine and warehouse space. The largest facility will total 180,000 sq. ft. and the second structure will be 100,000 sq. ft. The buildings are scheduled for completion in the spring.