The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has held firm in its request to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for an independent and objective study of the Tunnel Alternative at Devil's Slide. In their original letter of formal request to FHWA dated October 18, 1995, the Board asked that an independent engineering firm be hired to produce a study "determining the appropriate tunnel for the site" along with the cost of the different tunnel options, including design-build contracts. The letter requested that the selection process include the participation of the Dean of the Engineering School at Stanford or Berkeley, and that a four member oversight committee be established to be kept apprised of the progress and to consult and advise with the participants "to ensure that the study is impartial, complete and capable of receiving broad public acceptance."

A reluctant Caltrans and FHWA at first would not agree to the type of study requested by the Supervisors. A spokesman for Caltrans stated that the study would show nothing new; that the tunnel would still be not viable. Responses from FHWA to the request were used as a forum for attempted political sabotage of the Tunnel Initiative. Various bureaucratic regulations and conventions were cited that would not allow an independent, impartial study out of the influence of Caltrans.

To their credit, the Supervisors have held to their original request. Through letters, meetings and phone calls, the Tunnel Study Committee composed of Supervisors Ted Lempert and Mike Nevin let FHWA and Caltrans know their responses were inadequate and their attempts to weaken the study were unacceptable. The Board pressed for an impartial study by an independent contractor operating free of influence, restrictions, and predetermined parameters. Since the original letter, the Supervisors have convinced Caltrans and FHWA to:

• Allow the participation of an independent expert from outside of FHWA or Caltrans in the selection of the contractor.

• Include environmental considerations and permitting requirements in their study.

• Allow independent estimates of project design and construction times.

• Remove any predetermination of the scope, size, and alignment of the tunnel project.

• Include an open public review of the progress of the project, with access by an oversight committee to all documents and memos involving the study.

• Allow the consideration of design-build cost estimates, a common practice often used in emergency repairs that could substantially reduce the cost of the tunnel.

• Revise an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for the contractor that Caltrans issued long before the terms of the study had been defined and that specified the contractor would be required to support Caltrans in litigation.

• Obtain the appointment of Ralph Trapani, a highway and tunnel expert from the Colorado Department of Transportation, as an impartial and independent member of the contractor selection panel. The other two members will be Tony Caserta from FHWA and James Roberts, Chief of Division of Structures, from Caltrans.

In response to comments from FHWA and Caltrans that, in light of an upcoming tunnel study, the Tunnel Initiative is premature, SOC/CATS spokesperson Zoe Kersteen-Tucker stated before the Board: "The Tunnel Initiative is a problem solving measure, It will enable the voters to decide as soon as possible whether they want a tunnel or a bypass. In either case, the initiative leaves open the possibility of permanent repair of Devil's Slide. If enacted, this measure would be no more likely to force a no-build decision than the current Local Coastal Plan.

"The people of San Mateo County want a solution to the Devil's Slide problem, and they want the right solution. We believe that your tunnel study along with our initiative drive will resolve this issue once and for all."

---

Back to previous article Up to table of contents Forward to next article