Emergency Relief

The Loma Prieta earthquake struck northern California in October 1989, causing severe damage to the San Francisco and Oakland area. In Oakland, the earthquake caused a two-tiered portion of Interstate 880 know as the Cypress viaduct to collapse, killing 42 people. Because the viaduct was a key part of the area's transportation system, its destruction resulted in severe congestion, mobility problems, and financial losses. Six and one-half years after the earthquake, the replacement of the viaduct is still not complete. This report discusses the (1) status of construction, expected completion date, and reasons for any delays; (2) estimated cost of the project and reasons for any cost growth; and (3) guidance governing the Federal Highway Administration's use of emergency relief funds.

GAO found that: (1) the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has completed one-third of the Cypress Viaduct's construction and expects to have the project completed by 1998; (2) the replacement of the Cypress Viaduct has been hampered by public opposition, environmental concerns, and railroad negotiations; (3) Caltrans estimates total project costs will be $1.13 billion, 90 percent of which is federally financed through an emergency relief program; (4) construction costs are higher than originally planned because Caltrans underestimated the costs of constructing the freeway, managing traffic, and relocating rail yards; (5) Caltrans risks incurring additional costs because the project is in the early construction stages; (6) FHwA approved funding for the Cypress Viaduct without determining whether it was economically justified to prevent recurring damage and without placing limits on the use of emergency relief funds; (7) FHwA based its funding decision on the emergency relief manual and whether improvements could be performed using emergency relief funds or traditional transportation funds; and (8) the alternative that FHwA approved resulted in more extensive construction, higher costs, and greater risk of delay than would have occurred in rebuilding the structure prior to the earthquake.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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