Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Every Day Counts (EDC) Program brought national visibility to implementing alternative technical concepts (ATCs) for incorporation in transportation projects. FHWA continues to encourage state DOTs to implement this alternative contracting method on projects delivered using design-build (DB), construction manager at-risk (CMR) or construction manager/general contractor (CMGC), and design-bid-build (DBB) contracts. ATCs have a well-documented potential for accruing sizable benefits in cost savings, increased constructability, and schedule reduction. In almost every case, the approved ATC was in reality a previously unrecognized approach to alter the design and enhance its constructability by matching the design of a given feature of work with the proposing contractor’s preferred means and methods.
NCHRP Synthesis 455: Alternative Technical Concepts for Contract Delivery Methods found that the major barrier to implementing ATCs on all types of highway construction projects is the perceived difficulty by state transportation agencies and contractors in revising commitments made during the environmental permitting process and included in the Record of Decision. While projects in Minnesota and Missouri have successfully revised their environmental documents to take advantage of potentially large savings from ATCs without a substantial delay in the project schedule, there is a perception held both in the industry and by DOT project managers that any change to approved environmental documents will trigger an unacceptable delay. During an FHWA EDC ATC Implementation outreach workshop with the industry, both contractors and design consultants agreed that they tend to summarily dismiss any potential ATC that alters the project’s environmental permit regardless of the potential cost or time savings. Research is needed to identify impediments to the implementation of industry-driven innovation such as ATCs and value engineering and to better understand the implications for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance.
Under NCHRP Project 10-99, “Guide for Implementing Constructability Across the Entire Project Development Process: NEPA to Final Design,” the University of Florida was asked to develop a decision-making framework to assist transportation agencies in assess the benefits, in terms of cost savings, time savings, or both, from the utilization of constructability reviews and input from the industry during planning, design, and permitting phases. The developed framework is adaptable to all contract delivery methods and complies with all statutory requirements necessary to mitigate environmental impacts, both natural and cultural, without limiting the permitting or design innovation.
STATUS:
In addition to the conduct of research that documents the entire research effort published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 388 Framework for Implementing Constructability Throughout Project Development from NEPA to Final Design, other deliverables are available on the TRB website at trb.org by searching for NCHRP Web-Only Document 388. The deliverables to be posted to the TRB Publication Summary Web Page are as follows:
Appendices A, B, C, and D
Adaptation Guide for the Framework Toolkit
A link to access the Decision-Making Framework Toolkit here via GitHub site
