DWP vs. DPW - Feuding City Departments - Part II

The City of LA is busy building Fire Station #82 on Hollywood Boulevard at Van Ness. The Department of Public Works is in charge of the construction and Street Lighting, Street Services, Transportation, Building & Safety, Water & Power and a host of contractors and subcontractors are all working together to make it happen. Until something goes wrong!

Simple signal improvements involved excavation by a subcontractor at the corners of Hollywood & Van Ness, a conduit was discovered or damaged or something (depends on what department is consulted) and the 8' deep hole was covered with plywood and abandoned. Literally!

What a difference a day makes! (actually several days, several calls, a couple of face-to-face meetings...)

Two weeks have gone by and the battleground is still there! BUT the DWP returned to the scene of the crime and cleaned it up, removing the dirt and cement and tidying up, leaving a neatly covered excavation hole.

Next up, the DPW and the DWP engage their lawyers and determine who is responsible for repairing the sidewalk. Then the subcontractors who have been standing by are compensated and the people of Los Angeles end up paying too much for too little, regardless of who ends up responsible for the sidewalk.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• DWP
• Public Works
• LAFD
• construction
• Hollywood
• Stephen Box