Bridge financing.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce earlier this month made its annual lobbying trip up to Sacramento. Top item on the agenda? Reconstruction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

For months, Bay Area lawmakers have been engaged in a battle with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over design and reconstruction of the landmark 4-mile bridge, which was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Over the last eight years, cost estimates have soared from $1.3 billion to $5.1 billion, thanks to delays, overruns and frequent political clashes over design of the proposed suspension bridge, which is under construction alongside the existing bridge.

Late last year, the Schwarzenegger administration proposed a slimmed-down causeway bridge in its place.

But state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, is pushing a $3.2 billion bond to fund the original design. That money would be diverted from other projects throughout the state, including some in Southern California--hence the Chamber's opposition.

Assemblyman George Plescia, R-San Diego, is carrying legislation for the causeway redesign, with Bay Area residents picking up cost overruns. This is what the L.A. Chamber members want.

"Bay Area foils want everybody in the state to pay for the bridge, which would mean we could lose up to $400 million in funding for projects down here," said former Chamber chairman George Kieffer. "We want the design scaled back and want the local folks up there pay for cost overruns. After all, it's their bridge."