San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Update

New Bay Bridge SAS Bids Opened

Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee Works With Construction Industry

Contacts:
Bart Ney, Caltrans 510.224.6499
Randy Rentschler, BATA 510.817.5780
Stephen Maller, CTC 916.654.4245

Sacramento, Calif., March 22, 2006 – The Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee (TBPOC) consisting of Caltrans, the Bay Area Toll Authority and the California Transportation Commission opened bids today for the Self Anchored Suspension (SAS) Bridge contract for the new Bay Bridge.

The apparent low bidder is American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises — a Joint Venture, which presented a bid for $1.43 Billion. There were a total of two bids submitted, including a $1.68 billion bid by Kiewit/Koch Skanska/Manson — a Joint Venture.

Caltrans Director Will Kempton said, “This is great news for the Bay Area and the State of California. We can now move to get a safe bridge in place as quickly as possible.”

Since the contract was advertised in August 2005, the TBPOC has worked closely with the construction industry to identify and implement key contract enhancements to the SAS in order to improve competitive bidding. Amendments included extending the bid advertisement period, extending the contract by one year, and enhancing incentives for contractor cost reduction. Three contractor outreach meetings were held, culminating in over 340 bidder inquiries.

The Caltrans engineer’s estimate for the SAS is $1.45 billion. The TBPOC has made efforts to reduce costs on the SAS contract, although construction and market factors influence the cost. Rising bonding and insurance costs, increased labor prices, and worldwide demand for construction equipment are factors. Shipping costs and the construction labor force also have been significantly impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Today is a great day for our region. We’re one step closer to seismic safety and a brand new bridge,” said Steve Heminger, BATA Executive Director.

The review process will begin immediately, assessing the bids for responsiveness. The contract award is anticipated to occur in late April. The SAS is expected to be open to vehicle traffic in late 2013. Contractor incentives can potentially shorten the overall project construction by up to six months.

“It is an historic day for transportation in California,” commented John Barna, Executive Director for the California Transportation Commission.

The Bay Bridge East Span management team consists of Toll Bridge Program Manager, Tony Anziano; Interim Deputy Toll Bridge Program Manager, Brian Maroney; East Span Project Manager, Ken Terpstra; BATA Deputy Executive Director, Andy Fremier; and CTC Deputy Director for Program Delivery, Stephen Maller.