Legislator Seeks Audit of Caltrans Permit Office

State Sen. Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach) plans to request an audit of Caltrans’ troubled permitting office following several recent accidents caused by the agency’s misrouting of trucks with oversized loads.

Karnette, chair of the senate’s transportation committee, said she will make her request today to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

“I think Caltrans really needs some help to solve this problem,” Karnette said. “The state auditor has the ability and the resources to look at the cause.”

The office that regulates permits for oversized trucks has come under harsh scrutiny since a Westminster man was killed last July when a Caltrans permit writer mistakenly routed a 15-foot-high truck load under a 14-foot, 10-inch bridge. The truck’s cargo struck the man’s vehicle.

Although Caltrans officials originally said such mistakes are rare, a review of records found at least 33 similar errors in the past 3 1/2 years.

In October, a temporary bridge near Lompoc collapsed just seconds after a truck weighing more than twice the legal limit crossed it. The New Jersey-based manufacturer of the bridge, Acrow Corp. of America, has said the bridge was designed to handle such heavy loads only under special circumstances.

Those familiar with the Caltrans permitting office said at least six trucks over the legal weight limit had been routed over the Highway 246 bridge in the two weeks it had been open.