Planners of the long-awaited reconstruction of the Pajaro River levee system were seeking additional federal funding that they said would drastically reduce the timeline by allowing designers and contractors to work together throughout the process. But the $200 million for so-called "design-build" techniques did not make it into the Congressional budget deal approved last week.
That is according to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, who requested the funding. The levee disastrously failed one year ago, leaving hundreds homeless in the town of Pajaro.
Lofgren blamed House Republicans for keeping her request out of the budget. She called the outcome "disappointing," but said she will continue pushing to keep the project on track.
“I will not back down from the fight for families in Pajaro and adjacent areas,” Lofgren said in a statement to KAZU. “We know that upgrading the Pajaro River levees at the fastest clip possible can prevent devastating floods that have serious economic and human costs.”
Officials initially predicted that the $600 million project would take 10-12 years to complete. State legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year waived some of the permitting requirements for the project, knocking the timeline down to about 8 years. The additional federal funding would have trimmed several more years from the timetable–albeit for a greater upfront cost.
The project could still receive the design-build funding through the Army Corps of Engineers according to Mark Strudley, Executive Director of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, who said that the Corps has the ability to redirect funds and prioritize work after the federal budget is passed.
"We still have a crack at the funding through Corps-directed Work Plan funding," Strudley said in an e-mail.
Lofgren noted that the funding for the project under the traditional contracting model has already been secured. She said that she is continuing to push the Army Corps to expedite construction, which is set to begin later this year.
