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PUC report: WSIP makes construction progress but flags multimillion-dollar overruns
Summary
PUC staff told commissioners the Water System Improvement Program moved multiple projects forward and reached construction milestones—including 4,700+ feet excavated on the Bay Tunnel—while reporting a $12 million forecasted overrun against July 2011 approvals and noting challenges at Irvington Tunnel and Bay Division Pipeline segment 5.
At the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission meeting on March 25, Julie Labonte delivered the WSIP quarterly update covering activity from Oct. 2 through Dec. 24. Labonte said two projects moved from design into bid and award (regional habitat restoration and the Sutro reservoir projects), 21 projects are active in construction, and 53 of 81 projects are complete.
Labonte and staff reported a forecasted program cost overrun of $12,000,000 compared with the July 2011 approved program; that figure represents a $10,700,000 increase from the prior quarter. Labonte told commissioners the program still had $145,000,000 in reserves that staff believes can cover the increase. (Staff presentation included a separate line noting a $155,000,000 program management figure; the presentation contained both numbers.)
She highlighted two large, technically challenging projects: the Calaveras Dam work and the Irvington Tunnel. On Irvington, Labonte said the program reached the 1-mile excavation milestone and that water intrusion issues have improved. For the Bay Tunnel project, she said staff has excavated more than 4,700 feet and that the Bay Tunnel is about 43 percent complete.
Independent reviewers who presented earlier in the meeting reiterated that project procedures and the construction management team are strong but recommended clarity in schedule reporting, wider use of earned-value analysis and more constructability review earlier in design to limit change orders.
Labonte said staff plans to request a short release of program management reserve funds from the Board of Supervisors in March—probably less than $1,000,000—to close out two projects and that schedule delays on one Peninsula reach segment are expected to be absorbed within the existing program schedule.
Next steps: staff will continue to report on earned-value metrics and follow recommendations from the independent review panel; commissioners asked RBOC and staff to provide clearer, reconcilable project-completion and cost estimates for oversight purposes.
