LA Streetcar's Hidden Expenses

[The Davy Crockett]

In the LA Times on 10/21/13: City Hall staff kept quiet on L.A. streetcar red flags

From the article:

When downtown voters agreed last winter to bring back the Los Angeles streetcar, the campaign pitch sounded simple: a $125-million trolley through the heart of the central city, with funding split between federal grants and a new property tax

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Inside City Hall, however, staff members had been quietly warning that the project's price tag was not a detailed estimate and could rise, a Times review of city memos, emails and meeting notes has found.

Records also show that aides to City Councilman Jose Huizar were reluctant to incorporate higher estimates into public discussions, partly because of concerns they could slow the streetcar's progress.

The red flags proved accurate. Officials recently announced that cost estimates have more than doubled, to as much as $327.8 million. Earlier budgets had not accurately accounted for inflation or the potentially high cost of relocating utilities. The route probably will be shortened, no longer passing by two high-profile venues, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

With no clear way to close what could be a $200-million funding gap, the fear now at City Hall is that the streetcar's shot at a crucial federal grant is in jeopardy, potentially delaying construction by several years.

 

[TinCan782]

They always come back for more money...

"Henry Koffman, a construction management professor at USC, said public works projects often feel pressure to keep early cost estimates low. "If you aim high at the start, it's more likely the project will be torpedoed," he said, adding there is a better chance that requests for more money will be granted once a project is underway."

 

[Tokkyu40]

If it's already falling apart, they need to go back and redesign the route. Are they using the lowest cost technology appropriate for service? Things like that.
Heritage streetcar lines can be built for half the price if it meets the needs of the service. One of many things to think about.