On Monday Caltrans released hundreds of official records – including test results, correspondence and certified engineering reports – related to its response to an employee caught falsifying data during a construction project in September 2008.

The records released Monday confirm that a Caltrans employee, who was subsequently fired, falsified data on three projects:

• The La Sierra Avenue Bridge in Riverside in September 2008;

• A retaining wall at Braddock Drive on Interstate 405 in Los Angeles in April 2007;

• An overhead sign foundation on Interstate 580 in Oakland in March 2008.

In a separate and independent review validating Caltrans’ findings, the Federal Highway Administration also concluded that the employee’s falsification was limited to those three structures. Certified engineering reports released Monday confirm the safety of each of the structures.

The records show that although the former employee worked on the Bay Bridge, none of his work on the bridge was falsified. The records also show that the Bay Bridge is structurally sound.

“We have confirmed that the totality of the problem regarding falsified data is limited to one transportation technician’s work in three locations,” said acting Director Malcolm Dougherty in a letter sent to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing. “Caltrans performed an engineering analysis to ensure that each location is structurally safe.”

An executive summary of the documents, table of contents and the acting director’s cover letter can be seen below.

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112111 Caltrans Letters to Mark DeSaulnier

112111 Caltrans Project Reports - Table of Contents

112111 Caltrans Project Review - Executive Summary