#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.

           

           

 

Blog #33 The Bypass Is Ruining My Day--and Our Valley

            Anyone remember that faux-’50s cartoon of a woman with hand to forehead, complaining, “A nuclear bomb? That ruins my day!” That’s the Bypass for me, but it’s not funny. For those of us working to stop the Bypass, it threatens to take over whatever peace of mind we’ve established, not to mention our schedules as we squeeze in as many protests, meetings, letter writing, and other actions as possible.
           One great new tool for our protest is this video. Got 11 minutes? Here’s a great little video that someone put together that explains the whole Bypass Drama: “How CalTrans Sold the Willits Bypass” on YouTube. Good visuals and clear explanations!
            Local actions revved up with Earth Week. On April 23 two elderly Willits women, aged 78, were arrested at the Caltrans office for refusing to leave when their concerns were not adequately addressed. A crowd cheered them as they went off to jail.(Photos by Steve Eberhard)              

 On April 28^th, Save Our Little Lake Valley hosted the first educational forum in a series.

The focus was “Wetlands, Wells, and Wickdrains,” with scientific information provided on the impact of how the bypass might affect this precious resource. “Wickdrains” refers to the 55,000 holes 86 feet deep that will be dug into our wetlands to pump out the water. Our generally well-respected sheriff, Tom Allman, was the forum moderator. He lives in the valley not far from where the viaduct will pass by his land, so perhaps he was hoping to have his own concerns addressed.

Audience at the Grange on a Sunday afternoon.
John Ford is second from left in front.

He also brought along John Ford, a venerable rancher neighbor on whose former land the Bypass will cross. Ford, respected in the valley by “tree huggers” and conservatives alike, said that he found Caltrans “dysfunctional” and was wary of what they will do to the valley. Indeed.

Yes, talk about dysfunctional, read the news about the 2300 “banned bolts” that Caltrans installed in the new Bay Bridge (SF Chronicle article, May 9, 2013). Does that make you a little uneasy about driving over the bridge? It will cost them $10 million to repair it (KQED, May 8). But that’s another story. 
And such a dismal record still doesn’t stop The Machine from its well-armed (with a little help from their friends the CHP) and well-financed assault (to the tune of $300 million plus) on Little Lake Valley. Let’s hope their viaduct  won’t fall into the wetlands and cost an extra $20 million to repair, huh?

            No, we are still hoping to stop the Bypass before it gets to that dismal stage, with many plans ahead.

            We are planning another forum, the next one on the economics of the Bypass and how it will affect local businesses in the long run, not to mention the current impact. Many supporters of the Bypass claim it is providing jobs, and so they will do whatever they have to in order to make good money. The forum will ask what ethical considerations should be involved in allowing labor to make good money in the short term at the expense of long-term environmental concerns. (The human species can be so limited, it’s infuriating!)

            Another development was that the local band of Pomo Indians on the Sherwood Rancheria got involved recently with examining the impact of the Bypass construction was disturbing cultural heritage sites. The Ukiah Daily Journal (May 7) reportedby the Tribal Chairman, Michael Fitzgerral:

            "The tribe is aware of, and gravely concerned about, sacred and village sites that, while known to the tribe, have not been properly identified by archaeologists working on this project," says Fitzgerral in a press release. "The project site consists of one of the largest conglomerations of cultural sites, including burials, work areas, village sites, cooking areas, and all the places that one might need to survive and live. The project will cut into these important sacred places and cause irreparable harm if CalTrans proceeds unilaterally with construction prior to the proper analysis of the impact and a mitigation plan of the project on tribal cultural resources in consultation with the tribe."

            Finally, the last two tree sitters flew their coops, but another one has taken to a tree, which you can see on the SOLLV site. We keep hoping for more brave folks to put some kind of dent in the progress of “progress” (as some see the Bypass).

            Beyond the local, Willits residents against the Bypass made two trips

across the state to voice our concerns. One trip took 19 Willits citizens to Sacramento on May 2-3 for several meetings with representatives of Governor Brown and state agencies, including the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Policy Director for Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. We have yet to see how those meetings will pan out for state officials taking into consideration the eloquent voices of local activists.

Protest at State Capitol, photo by Steve Eberhard, Willits News

            Another contingent went to LA on May 6^th-7^th to speak at a meeting of the California Transportation Commission where we hoped to make the case that the remaining funds for the Bypass should not be awarded since they have not been fulfilling their mitigation efforts as promised. However, just on Thursday, we learned that the $30.9 million were awarded afterall. The issues are so complex that I won’t go into the details here, but the link to the Ukiah Daily Journal above gives more details.

            Meanwhile, Caltrans is ready to begin drilling its test pilings, puncturing the heart of our

wetlands.

Photo by Steve Eberhard, Willits News

            Many of us who see the irrationality of this Bypass design feel such deep anxiety and anger that we are up against a tremendous force that will stop at nothing to get its way. I mentioned earlier that I read through the letters of hundreds of Willits citizens written in 2002 (catalogued in the Environmental Impact Report) asking that a four-lane Bypass not be constructed in the valley, yet Caltrans responded consistently that their plan is the only way to fulfill the purpose and need of a Bypass. They were and are not interested in what Willits wants; Caltrans only seeks to fulfill its dream of an interregional traffic flow that requires this 4-lane behemoth—even though so much of Highway 101 is only 2 lanes, including parts of the route from Hopland to Ukiah and the highway that leaves 101 north of Willits. It makes no sense.
            In all ways we continue to speak out. You can see testimony at the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors (click for link) from back in March, including yours truly at this site, pleading for a sensible approach to this problem.
            Other organizing efforts continue. One new member of SOLLV has created a chilling image of the Little Lake Valley with a superimposed viaduct on it to give us a sense of what the future will look like. If we raise the money, we can put it on a billboard for the Willits community and its supporters to see what the future will look like.
            While we think about the long-term struggle here, many like me grapple with how to balance this hugely inconvenient attack on our valley, the time and energy it takes to fight the Bypass as designed without $300 million at our disposal, while keeping track of our jobs, our families, our peace of mind. This urban woman who went back to the land in order to grapple with the more solitary struggles that arise in a life on the land is now relinquishing those dreams and back to the struggle that urban folks know too well (as do rural folks)—how to face monstrous forces of injustice that threaten to literally steamroll a cement road over one’s dreams of beauty and peace.