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Project #05-0M8704 could have been a 2-month, $250,000 project that would not touch the utilities, but the Summerland Retaining Wall project on Route 192 closed the road for about 9 months and cost $1.4 Million just for the main contractor - Specialty Construction headed by Doug Clay, which happened to win three Caltrans projects in a row.

The Caltrans Design Engineer, Aaron Henkel, experienced in curb and gutter and sidewalk projects, admitted to not calculating the design, but just cutting and pasting other plans together, with many errors, necessitating a huge excavation at the creek, and the utilities to be moved for a bid award of about $640,000.

Unqualified staff repeatedly modified the defective design without proper and legal change orders, causing huge "Extra Work" cost overruns and structural deficiencies. The photo at Right shows a piece of equipment falling into an excavation, after which the foreman threatened the inspector with death for photographing.

The field engineer reminded Caltrans that the Fish and Game Permit did not allow the creek to be disturbed, but the photo shows that the creek was dug up. Due to Caltrans design error, the utility pole with all lines was moved to the wrong location (within the excavation), and the contractor, Specialty Construction, claimed that the wall could not be built as designed. The structure construction field engineer and inspector requested Aaron Henkel, Design Engineer, to provide correct and complete Plans, but the Design Engineer refused to correct errors and omissions, and an unqualified resident-pseudo-engineer tried to force changes without approved changes.

Despite the project contract showing fixed prices for the structure work, the Contractor, Specialty Construction, got paid by-the-hour digging, re-digging and building the wall one-half at a time differently than the plans showed.

Caltrans violated its own policy by allowing an unqualified person to run the job. Caltrans Construction Policy Bulletin "CPB 07-3", dated June 20, 2007, requires a "Resident Engineer" to be a California licensed Professional Engineer, but Michael Mortensen had no engineering license, no engineering degree, and displayed a BA diploma in psychology. However the unlicensed non-engineer Michael Mortensen changed much of the contract after the job was bid and approved. As of 2009, Mortensen continued to work as a Resident Engineer, shown at Left.

The Senior Structures Engineer, Les Mikio Inagaki was sent from Bakersfield and paid per diem for his beach hotel for many months, despite admitting to lacking experience and knowledge of structure work. The District 5 Construction Office Chief, Pat Connally, had only an associate engineering degree from a community college. Carl LeBreque, contractor foreman, who violated safety codes and threatened the inspector, is shown below Right.

Michael Mortensen, without qualification and official authorization, modified the contract plans and specifications for the contractor and approved improper structure construction work, causing the:

• drainage structures to be built not per approved plan,
• wall to be built not per approved plan,
• rock slope to be built not per approved plan,
• grading to be built not per approved plan,
• creek to be built with no approved plan,
• grading to be modified several times (with wall supporting more load that per design),
• structure backfill to be modified,
• weepholes to be abandoned (possibly causing more loading of the wall),
• guard rail to be modified;
• and the utility pole with electric, phone, and cable lines to be moved a second time at unknown additional cost.

Meanwhile the real Engineer (degreed and licensed Civil Engineer in structure construction department) who refused to approve the deficient work was harassed, assaulted and suspended for a month, while contractors Doug Clay and Carl LaBreque complained that he "disturbed the workers" by photographing the contractor's deficient work that he was inspecting and rejecting. Although Alan Haag (Senior Construction Engineer), Jeff Abercrombie (Area Manager), Les Mikio Inagaki (Senior Structure Engineer), Arvinderpal Singh Gill and others were shown photographs of illegal and improper activities (more shown elsewhere on this website), the contractor was paid, the inspected was "resigned" and his as-built plans were not recorder; and the wall began to crack and move.

Despite a Caltrans-hired investigator describing the Caltrans Santa Barbara office to be "broken," the malfeasance was covered up and the 17-year Caltrans Civil Engineer "whistleblower" was threatened, assaulted and suddenly transferred to Bakersfield, while at least 5 private consultant engineers, costing the State over $1,000,000 per year, were hired in Santa Barbara. Some of these consultants were hired from a private consulting firm managed by Gregory Chelini, a friend of Caltrans engineer Arvinderpal Singh Gill, who was promoted despite poor reviews, and history of improper use of State equipment.

Due to the huge cost over-runs, Michael Mortensen and Alan Haag requested additional funds from the California Transportation Commission, apparently without disclosing that Caltrans made errors.

This wall could have been built for under $250,000 without moving the utilities, but instead the wall contractor, Specialty Construction, was paid approximately $1.4 Million for this small, low-traffic, specially-colored concrete wall overlooking a horse pasture, not including the work of three utility companies moving all of the utilities twice.

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