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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."

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."

Although a Caltrans inquiry has tentatively concluded that the manufacturer of a temporary bridge near Lompoc was responsible for the span's collapse six weeks ago, serious questions remain about the agency's culpability in the dramatic failure, a state senator said Thursday. The temporary bridge on a stretch of Route 246 caved in just seconds after a nearly 90-ton truck crossed it, sending the next vehicle on a harrowing slide to the creek bed 30 feet below. No one was injured in the mishap.

Although a Caltrans inquiry has tentatively concluded that the manufacturer of a temporary bridge near Lompoc was responsible for the span's collapse six weeks ago, serious questions remain about the agency's culpability in the dramatic failure, a state senator said Thursday. The temporary bridge on a stretch of Route 246 caved in just seconds after a nearly 90-ton truck crossed it, sending the next vehicle on a harrowing slide to the creek bed 30 feet below. No one was injured in the mishap.

Caltrans permit writers routed at least six overweight trucks over a temporary bridge near Lompoc that collapsed last week, unaware that the road had weight restrictions or that a temporary structure was even in place, sources in the agency said Thursday. The two-lane bridge on California 246 had been open for two weeks when it collapsed Oct. 21, just seconds after a legally permitted truck weighing more than twice the bridge's capacity drove across.

Caltrans permit writers routed at least six overweight trucks over a temporary bridge near Lompoc before it collapsed last week, unaware that the road had weight restrictions or that a temporary structure was even in place, sources in the agency said Thursday. The two-lane bridge on Highway 246 had been open for two weeks when it collapsed dramatically Oct. 21 just seconds after a truck drove across that weighed more than twice the bridge's capacity.

A Caltrans inquiry has tentatively concluded that the manufacturer of a temporary bridge near Lompoc was responsible for the span's collapse six weeks ago, but serious questions remain about the agency's culpability in the dramatic failure, a state senator said Thursday. The temporary bridge on a stretch of California 246 caved in just seconds after a nearly 90-ton truck crossed it, sending the next vehicle on a harrowing slide to the creek bed 30 feet below. No one was injured in the mishap.

State officials are investigating the collapse last week of a temporary bridge near Lompoc that caved in just seconds after an 83-ton truck crossed the expanse, sending the next vehicle sliding on a harrowing ride about 30 feet to the creek bed below. The driver of the vehicle that crashed, San Fernando Valley resident Brian Foster, was not seriously injured. As a result of the accident, state Sen.

About 3 1/2 hours before a temporary bridge collapsed last week in Lompoc, Caltrans engineers noticed a potential problem with the structure and notified agency officials in Sacramento, who did not shut down the bridge and decided not to do further inspections until the following day, a Caltrans spokeswoman said Friday.