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POLITICO's California Currents newsletter reported on September 9 that SCCA and the construction unions are pressing the state to revise Caltrans contract language that would halt highway work across much of Southern California during the summer of the 2028 Olympic Games.
The Proposed Restrictions
As currently written, no work and no highway closures of any kind are allowed on the Games Route Network from June 1 through September 1, 2028, which is 93 days across 19 segments in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. A second tier stops work in the traveled way on every other state highway in Los Angeles and Ventura counties for most of July and August. The Olympic competition itself runs about two and a half weeks.
Additionally, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) released its 2028 Games Regional Transportation Demand Management Strategic Plan that also calls for construction moratoriums on major corridors in venue cities and toll roads. See page 83 for the extremely brief moratorium description.
Media Coverage
SCCA worked with POLITICO reporter Alex Nieves to place a story about this issue. We gave POLITICO exclusive access to Executive Director Charlie Nobles' letter to Caltrans requesting a working meeting on the specifics of the shutdown, which put the industry's case in front of the legislators, staff and agency leaders who follow POLITICO's California coverage.
"It is critical that this meeting happens as soon as possible," Nobles wrote in the letter. "Contractors are beginning their planning for the work that is set to take place during the summer of 2028 and we cannot leave working men and women behind."
The story also drew a response from Caltrans, whose spokesperson said the department "will continue to work with industry and labor partners to minimize impacts and disruptions across the region," and it carried the Laborers and the Teamsters making the same case about what a lost summer does to their members.
“It is not an option to simply take three months off in the summer,” Jon Preciado, Business Manager of the Southern California District Council of Laborers, told POLITICO. “Their family’s bills do not work that way, and there is no forgiveness of rent due because their work has been taken away from them.”
“When the paving stops the trucks stop, and when the trucks stop the hours stop, and when the hours stop so do the paychecks to my members,” said Robert Stanley, Chairman of Construction and Building Materials for Teamsters Joint Council 42, in the coalition’s release. “The cascading effect does not end with my members, because it runs back to the quarries, the ready-mix plants, the yards and the shops.”
Economic Impact
A report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, commissioned by SCCA, estimated more than $15 billion of transportation construction work underway in greater Los Angeles this year, supporting nearly 120,000 private sector jobs. SCCA projects $2.4 billion of that economic activity is at risk with the current shutdown language, which is upwards of $20,000 in lost wages and benefits for the average hourly highway construction worker.
Current Status
The Southern California District Council of Laborers and Teamsters Local 166 have written to Governor Newsom asking that the provisions be withdrawn from the contract specifications. Contractors met with Caltrans earlier this month and SCCA remains hopeful a compromise can be reached. Members can find the petition and campaign materials at stoptheshutdown.org.
Download the Politico piece by clicking this link.
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