New Bay Bridge span is done, but 170 still working on the project

Over 170 engineers, consultants and other support staffers are still working on the Bay Bridge project.

Over 170 engineers, consultants and other support staffers are still working on the Bay Bridge project. Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close New Bay Bridge span is done, but 170 still working on the project 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Fifteen months after the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge opened, 170 engineers, consultants and other support staffers are still on the clock for the project full-time — at a cost of $44 million a year.

Caltrans records show that of the 100 state employees still on the payroll, about 80 are assigned to construction, 10 to “materials testing” and 10 to “design support.” They and the outside consultants are scattered between offices at the foot of the bridge and Caltrans’ local headquarters in downtown Oakland.

Since its opening last year, the $6.4 billion span has been beset by problems — from defective bolts and corrosive leaks to protected birds interfering with the demolition of the old bridge.

Still, Metropolitan Transportation Commission chief Steve Heminger — whose agency oversees the bridge — says the problems hardly justify all the engineers and consultants being kept on the payroll.

The problem, says one transportation planner: “They got nowhere to go.”

Indeed, now that the region’s other mega-projects like the new Caldecott Tunnel and the Devil’s Slide bypass near Pacifica are done, and much of the state funding for new work has dried up, Caltrans appears to have a surplus of engineers and consultants.

A state legislative analyst’s report recently ripped Caltrans for a lack of accountability in managing its projects, and said the agency was “experiencing a substantial decline in workload” that will leave it overstaffed by 3,700 workers this fiscal year — at a cost of $600 million.

However, the state’s engineering union leader, Bruce Blanning, says layoffs aren’t in the cards for workers assigned to the bridge project. He fully expects them to be moved to other highway jobs, “because there are always lots of big and small projects.’’

In the meantime, however, drivers are picking up the tab with their bridge tolls.

“The good news is the overhead expenses are falling,” Heminger said.

“The bad news is they’re not falling fast enough.”

Actually, says Matt Rocco, Caltrans’ public affairs chief in Sacramento, the number of bridge workers “has been on a steady decline from its peak in 2010, when 250 to 300 full-time staff worked on the project.”

On Friday, saying he intended to “right-size” the bridge program, Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty announced a management reorganization to reflect “the decreasing amount of workload.”

The Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee is expected to address the problem at its meeting this week. But look for at least some state workers to stay on the Bay Bridge job for at least the next few years.

Uber fight: San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón’s fight with Uber was brought on, in large part, because other city and state agencies have been turning a blind eye to questions about the ride-service giant’s business and safety practices.

"We wish there was a more earnest effort to make sure consumers are protected,” Gascón said at a news conference the day he announced a lawsuit with Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey over Uber’s allegedly empty assurances that it’s vetting its drivers.

Gascón was referring to the California Public Utilities Commission. But insiders tell us the suit was also prompted by calls from the state Department of Weights and Measures and even city departments that felt their enforcement efforts were not getting any support.

If anything, Gascón was given signals from San Francisco City Hall to back off — and told by some that he did not understand the “new shared economy.”

A similar message was delivered by the mayor’s office to the tax collector when he announced plans to start collecting the city’s hotel tax from Airbnb.

Off the field: Joe Montana’s quest to build a $400 million hotel, sports bar and commercial development next to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara has been stalled by the 49ers’ dibs on nearly 800 parking spaces at the site.

Montana has had exclusive rights to the 9 acres of city property off Tasman Drive since 2011.

The catch: The 49ers also have the right to park 790 cars there on game days.

The team offered to move the tailgaters to a nearby youth soccer park, but that set off a firestorm of opposition from locals — prompting a stalemate.

Montana’s development partner, Lowe Enterprises, has since lost interest after repeatedly coming up short with a design that satisfied both the Niners and their own needs, according to city sources.

But there is still time in the game.

Montana is in talks with Related Co., the outfit behind a $6.5 billion mixed development on the city golf course next door, about teaming up and having Related absorb some of the parking needs.

As a result, the Santa Clara City Council voted last week to give Montana his fourth extension, pushing the game clock to break ground to as late as March 2017 — a move that will keep the site a parking lot for Super Bowl 50 in 2016.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross