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A Sacramento-area legislator said he is considering requesting an audit of the California Department of Transportation due to delays with the capital region’s $511 million Highway 50 construction project, which is now not expected to be completed until the end of October.
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“There’s just been so many problems with Caltrans and this project and I really want to get to the bottom of why it’s gone so badly,” Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, said Wednesday.
He made those comments in response to reporting by the news outlet Abridged by PBS KVIE, which found that the use of unapproved concrete during construction led to cost increases and delays in completing the job, known as Fix50.
The project is adding carpool lanes and resurfacing pavement on Highway 50 between Interstate 5 and Watt Avenue. A main goal of the work is to improve traffic congestion on the 14-mile stretch of road.
Its price tag and project completion dates are more than a year and a half and $70 million beyond earlier estimates. The agency acknowledged to Abridged that “concrete placement and substandard lab test results have caused delays in completing the project.”
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Caltrans officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hoover said he was disappointed but “not incredibly surprised,” by the new details. He said his interest in requesting an audit came before the latest reporting. He said he still may pursue the review even if it doesn’t solve issues with the current project.
Lawmakers can submit audit requests to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee for review. The committee, which Hoover is a member of, currently does not have any hearings scheduled as legislators just finished a two-year session. Requests approved by the committee are sent to the state auditor.
“At the very least, I think Caltrans needs to understand that the Legislature wants them to do a better job,” Hoover said. “So that’s a message I would like to get across.”
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