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Project Profiles

DC Streets

Location	Washington, D.C.
Project Sponsor / Borrower	District of Columbia Division of Transportation (DDOT) Federal Highway Administration
Program Areas
Mode	Local Streets
Description	"DC Streets" was a five-year O&M concession to VMS, Inc., a private highway asset management firm responsible for the maintenance of city streets, tunnels, pavements, bridges, roadside features (curbs, gutters, and retaining walls), pedestrian bridges, roadside vegetations, guardrails, barriers, impact attenuators and signs in Washington, D.C. The operating concession also included city-wide snow and ice control responsibilities. VMS Inc. was purchased by Australia's Transfield Services in October 2007 and continues to provide O&M services for DDOT's 17 tunnels.
Cost	$69.6 million five-year contract
Funding Sources	N/A
Project Delivery / Contract Method	Request for Proposals with a "bust buy" analysis considering technical capabilities, staffing, management, QA/QC, past performance, and cost. Four proposals were received.
Private Partner	O&M provider: VMS, Inc.
Project Advisors / Consultants	SAIC Michael Baker, Inc.
Lenders	None
Duration / Status	June 22, 2000 to June 21, 2005, ongoing for tunnels
Financial Status	N/A
Innovations	The first urban application of street maintenance outsourcing to the private sector. The maintenance contract was performance-based and required the contractor to apply rigorous asset management practices. The goal of using innovative methods and procedures for infrastructure maintenance was encouraged by the contractor not being told what to do or how to do it, but rather what to achieve. The contract was the largest transportation investment in DDOT's history and also represented the first time that FHWA teamed directly with a city government on a program to preserve its highway infrastructure.
Related Links / Articles	Focus Article Focus is the monthly newsletter of FHWA's Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center. An article on DC Streets was published in March 2002. Asset Preservation Plan for the District of Columbia National Highway System Prepared for DDOT and FHWA in preparation for the outsourcing maintenance responsibilities for Washington, D.C.'s street network.
Contacts	Luke DiPompo DDOT Tel: (202) 654-6134 Main: (202) 645-6129

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