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I worked on that I-5 highway when I worked for a pile driving contractor. I also worked on the bypass (I-99) that connects I-5 to I-50.There were a couple of projects in CA about 15 years ago, if my memory serves, that showed how far gov't will go to make things work. One was a section of I-5 through Sacramento that needed to be expedited. An offer was made with incentives to get the job done quickly. The job was done in no time and the incentives were paid. Normally, it would have stretched out while the contractor worked the "cost, plus" angle. The other project was the new Bay Bridge in SF/Oakland. That was completed in short order as well, but it turns out they used Chinese bolts (in violation of the contract), that failed miserably and had to be replaced. Even with that, the project was completed in short order. Incentives work.
We had environmental rules at that time but as the high speed rail project proves, the rules are much worse now than when I was working in heavy Construction. Even back then the rules were to put it mildly, draconian.
The new Bay Bridge jobs took from 1989 to 2013 to build. And it was not shut down but for a short time after the quake hit.