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Speedy contractor finishes SF freeway project early, pockets $8 million

Renowned contractor C.C. Myers, of MacArthur Maze repair fame, has done it again — this time making millions for delivering the Alemany overpass rebuild ahead of schedule.

Myers, now doing business as Myers & Sons, was the prime contractor on the just-completed $37 million rebuild of the Alemany Boulevard overpass on Highway 101 in San Francisco.

The rebuild was originally scheduled to begin in July, but was moved up to April to take advantage of the drop in traffic brought on by the pandemic. Caltrans offered a bonus of $1 million for every day Myers finished the job ahead of the original 18-day schedule.

The flip side of the deal was that Myers would have to pay back $1 million for every day the job went beyond 18 days.

Myers got the work done in nine days.

“Their quick work scored an $8 million bonus and saved massive backups,” said Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney. (The bonus deal had an $8 million cap.)

Fast work is something of a specialty for Myers.

After the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California, Myers fixed four damaged bridges on the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles in 66 days, a full 74 days ahead of schedule, and earned a $14.8 million bonus.

When an overturned gasoline tanker explosion destroyed a three-lane overpass section of the MacArthur Maze in Emeryville in 2007, the Myers firm got a $5 million bonus for finishing ahead of schedule.

“There are costs associated with speed so it’s not all free money, but it does feel good to be able to deliver,” said Clint Myers Jr., C.C.’s son and vice president of the company.

The company’s motto is to “deliver on the impossible.” Maybe it should add, “and make a good buck doing it.”