BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2098
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 26, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2098 (Miller) - As Amended: August 20, 2010
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:12-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Riverside County Transportation
Commission (RCTC) to award a design-build contract for design
and construction of the State Highway Route 91 Corridor
Improvements Project, subject to the following conditions:
1)Stipulates that Caltrans is responsible for construction
inspection services on the project, and prescribes a direct
reporting relationship between project inspectors and senior
Caltrans engineers, who are responsible for acceptance or
rejection of the construction work.
2)Stipulates that Caltrans retains authority to stop the
contractor's operations and take appropriate actions if public
safety is jeopardized, and requires the department to ensure
that public safety and convenience is maintained when work on
the project is performed within the state highway
right-of-way.
3)Prescribes the process by which Caltrans is to document
project deficiencies and direct their remedy.
4)Provides that Caltrans may use employees or consultants to
perform prescribed services, consistent with the State
Constitution.
5)Requires RCTC to report to the Legislature biennially on the
project's progress and on compliance with the above
provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 2098
Page 2
The responsibilities assigned in this bill to Caltrans generally
represent normal project-related oversight activities whose
costs are included in the project budget.
COMMENTS
Background and Purpose . SB 1316 (Correa)/Chapter 714 of 2008
authorized RCTC to develop the State Highway Route 91 Corridor
Improvements Project. This $1.2 billion project, between the
Orange County line to Interstate 15 in Riverside County,
includes a general purpose traffic lane in each direction,
improved ramps and intersections at major city streets that
intersect the freeway in Corona, better connections between
Interstate 15 and Route 91 and the extension of the Route 91
Express Lanes, which are currently located in Orange County to
Interstate 15.
Proponents assert that the project's financing plan-a mix of
federal innovative financing loan guarantees and revenue
bonds-is only viable if RCTC can provide cost and schedule
certainty via the use of a design-build procurement. Proponents
contend that failure to secure design-build contracting
authority, and instead using the traditional design-bid-build
approach, will result in a three- to five-year delay to
accommodate project design and right of way acquisition.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081