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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2001

Eleventh Hour Deal Delivers Bridge Retrofit Financing

During the flurry of deal-making that marked the final days of the Legislature's 2001 session, state lawmakers finally reached agreement last month on a plan to cover cost overruns on the seismic retrofitting of Bay Area toll bridges and replacement of the east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

The governor's signature on Assembly Bill 1171 (sponsored by Fremont Assemblyman John Dutra) would put Bay Area drivers on the hook for about two-thirds of the estimated $2 billion in cost overruns for the retrofit program. The local funding would come from an extension of the current $1 toll surcharge, which was originally scheduled to expire in 2008 and which brings tolls on state-owned bridges to $2. A portion of the second dollar could be available for congestion-related improvements in the bridge corridors.

The state government would cover the remainder of the shortfall plus up to $448 million in any future overruns. Under the bill, Caltrans would use revenue from the toll surcharge to back a series of bond issues.

MTC oversees the region's toll bridges in its role as the Bay Area Toll Authority, and was a key player in the negotiations that led to the funding package.

Proposed East span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge The deal clears the way for construction of the Bay Bridge's new east span, shown here in a rendering.

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