Grand jury faults planning and procurement on Van Ness BRT; SFMTA and PUC pledge reforms and lessons learned

The Government Audits & Oversight Committee on Sept. 30 heard the civil grand jury’s report on the Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, which concluded that underestimated underground utility risk, procurement scoring that overweighted price, late contractor involvement and weakened construction management contributed to schedule slips and cost increases.

Simone Manganelli, presenting for the grand jury, summarized key findings: the original construction estimate ($281 million plus $28 million contingency) has grown to a current projected $346 million (about a 23% overrun); the project's original feasibility and procurement processes did not adequately anticipate utility relocation risks; the CMGC (construction management/general contractor) model was undermined when the contractor entered late in design and when a key subcontractor was removed during construction. The jury recommended improved feasibility assessments, mandatory exploratory potholing on main corridors, stronger preconstruction technical reviews and removing a mandatory cost criterion for CMGC preconstruction scoring.

Tom Maguire, SFMTA director of streets, acknowledged shortcomings and described corrective steps: an in-house project management office to standardize risk identification and mitigation, enhanced potholing and utility coordination on subsequent projects (El Terrelle, Geary), and more robust oversight of CMGC contracts. John Scarpulla of the SFPUC described PUC practices to maintain digital as-built records and to apply exploratory potholing where appropriate.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman moved to continue the Van Ness items to the next GAO meeting (Oct. 7) and asked the City Attorney to evaluate possible closed-session follow-up because of ongoing contractor disputes; the committee unanimously approved the continuation.