The Professional Engineers in California Government, the union representing state engineers, has filed suit to stop the project to replace Doyle Drive, the 1.6 mile highway that connects the Golden Gate Bridge with the City of San Francisco. The lawsuit alleges that the project impermissibly uses a Private Public Partnership (P3) contrary to the State law authorizing the project. Instead, the engineers union asserts that the project should be awarded to the lowest bidder pursuant to a traditional design-bid-build process, with the design component being performed by State engineers. Under the current arrangement, Hochtief Concessions and Meridiam Infrastructure will design, construct, operate and maintain the road.
Central to the lawsuit is the assertion that Streets and Highways Code Section 143, which authorizes P3 projects on the state highway system under certain circumstances, requires that revenues to pay for the project be generated by tolls. As the Doyle Drive Project does not include a tolling component, the lawsuit contends that proceeding with the project as a P3 violates the statute.
The lawsuit was filed with the Alameda County Superior Court and is case number RG10544672. Articles summarizing the lawsuit can be found here and here.