#34 Follow the Money

           The struggles continue and will continue--even if we have to end up painting "$300 million wasted" onto the cement viaduct.


Kim & Sata at Memorial Day Demonstration, photo by Steve Eberhard

           Check out this 5 minute KGO San Francisco news report  (May 9) that reinforces how unnecessary the Bypass is when you see the actual video footage of cars leaving Willits at the north end of town on Highway 101: long stretches of no cars or 1 to 2, with a “glut” of 3 to 4 at a time every now and then. Granted, on the days before and after major summer holidays, like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, traffic piles up for a few hours. But a 4-lane bypass that can carry 40,000 cars a day is unnecessary for even that problem when an alternate truck route—already designed by community members years ago—would take care of those heavy traffic days.     

Bob Chevalier locked down to equipment for drilling wetlands,
photo by Steve Eberhard

         By the way, that report says the Bypass will cost $210 million, but we have seen other numbers, and we also know that cost over runs are famous. In fact, Caltrans was just in the radio news this morning on the California Report (the first minute of this link) that Governor Brown finds the "insular culture" of Caltrans that is "not responsive" to taxpayers and requires "top to bottom" investigation. (Also see this report on the review for the full written article.)     Work on the Bypass continues, despite ongoing tree sits, folks locking themselves to equipment, and demonstrations by the roadway.

Tree Sitter Red Tail Hawk, photo by Steve Eberhard

      With the major forests in the way of the Bypass now pretty much destroyed, Caltrans is beginning to drill their 55,000 holes 80 feet deep into the wetlands of Little Lake Valley in order to pump out the water. Their mitigation plan says they will recreate an equivalent wetland elsewhere. Right!
          One of the contractors hired by Caltrans to help build the Bypass had an agreement not to use city streets so that the 114,000 dump trucks hauling fill in and other materials would not destroy Willits streets. Instead, the contractor is supposed to build a separate “haul road.” However, we just learned that the contractor said it is too expensive to build a separate road, so Caltrans has violated another agreement—and we’re only four months into their construction, with six years to go.

 

Drill rig set up to begin boring test holes. Photo courtesy of Steve Eberhard.

           

          But we have to remember: This Bypass is not for Willits. It’s for anyone traveling up and down Highway 101 that doesn’t want to stop in Willits.
                Most scams and scandals are tied to money, power, or fear of harm in some way. I’m learning that the imposition of the Willits Caltrans Bypass is all about the money: reaping the benefits of the $300 million dollars that regional and local politicians, labor representatives, and citizens plan to get from the state and federal government. The mantra that the Bypass will help traffic congestion is the smokescreen for the real motive: money and jobs.
            Why is Caltrans so fixated on 4 lanes? Once they convince everyone that 4 lanes are necessary, then they can apply for the federal funds, as Caltrans spokesperson Phil Frisbie made clear to me in an interview.
           Ellen Drell and her husband David Drell have been two of the main combatants against the Bypass through their work at the Willits Environmental Center. (Check out an article that Ellen wrote a year ago.) Ellen gave a talk at the Willits Library on May 13^th about the complex history of the Willits Bypass struggle dating back to 1962. At various points over the last five decades, with no funds in sight, the Bypass plans were shelved. When the economy melted down in 2008, so did state funding for unnecessary transportation problems. So in September 2010 when Caltrans again sought Bypass funds from the state, they were denied. The Bypass was considered “dead,” even by Bypass supporters No wonder everyone thought it would never happen.
           Apparently, however, when federal stimulus money became available with the Recovery act, Congressman Mike Thompson (5^th District) sought to please his labor constituents with the pork in the Bypass barrel and pursued the Bypass. The Bypass was back on the table, the money was flowing, and the chainsaws started ripping into the forests immediately.
            The corruption at the heart of the Bypass is the way that all the “deciders” were essentially duped by Caltrans into believing that we need 4 lanes, based on a rather obscure traffic flow designation called Level of Service (LOS).  Traffic engineers rate traffic flow from A (very little traffic and fast flow) to F (bumper to bumper jams). They recommend that highways be designed to create at least a middle level of flow, C, over the next 20 years. Caltrans is convinced that a two lane bypass would create an LO.S D, which is unacceptable
         Here is where you can find a Caltrans webcam on mile north of Willits.
 Our traffic problem requiring the Bypass!
            If you look at the actual footage of traffic leaving Willits at the north end of town, or you’ve driven it, you’d probably declare that it’s already LOS B or even A since there is a constant flow north with so little traffic (except in the peak hours of vacation revelers flowing north). This rather complex calculation relates back to having a huge bureaucracy focused on an antequated model of transportation design, out of touch with today’s environmental realities, and looking out for its own best interests rather than what Willits needs or wants.

         If you think something is wrong here, please contact Governor Brown and tell him to stop the Bypass. It’s a huge waste of money.