Case Study: Georgia Dot Design-Build (D-B) Bridge Replacement Program

Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)

Statewide

Design-Build (D-B)

Low Bid

• 2016: $39.6 million (25 bridge replacements in five bundles)
• 2017: $25.0 million (13 bridge replacements in two bundles)

Future funding is $30 million per year

100% State-Funded. No local match

GDOT gives 1,095 days per bridge bundle with a time duration for a road closure assigned for each bridge.

Georgia's Transportation Funding Act of 2015 resulted in an additional $757 million in 2016 and an estimated $824 million in 2017 for GDOT. With that, the GDOT bridge program increased from $155 million in 2015 to approximately $279 million in 2016, $301 million in 2017, and $369 million in 2018. In an effort to ramp up bridge replacement and repair of locally owned bridges, GDOT began a bridge bundling program. The goal of the program is efficiency and speed. The target of the program is county-owned bridges. GDOT meets with the counties when choosing bridges for the program for endorsements and concurrence.

GDOT decided to use the D-B project delivery method coupled with low-bid procurement for the program. The D-B request for proposals (RFPs) is very prescriptive and includes 50 percent design plans in the package. In an effort to save time during the procurement process, GDOT does not include an opportunity for alternative technical concepts. Instead, the bundle projects include an industry forum with a chance for participating teams to conduct one-on-one meetings with GDOT to propose innovative ideas.

None

Georgia has more than 1,300 county bridges in poor condition statewide. GDOT's program goal was to deliver projects quickly and efficiently in order to rapidly reduce the number of locally owned bridges in poor condition.

The screening process is vital to project success. Bridges that could hold up the contract are eliminated.

• County owned.
• Poor condition.
• Limited or no right-of-way (ROW) needs.
• Typically small bridges across small creeks.
• Roads that can be detoured preferred.
• Low-volume roads.
• No bridges involving a railroad.
• Avoided Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplains.
• Group bridges in close proximity.

D-B, Low Bid (Contractors must be prequalified)

100% State-Funded. No local match.

• The general engineering consultant (GEC) who puts together the D-B bundles completes hydrology and hydraulics. He or she also considers the environmental impacts, endangered species, and windows for construction and include that information in the RFP.
• The D-B team prepares all environmental permits. GDOT submits them.
• Because the projects are State-funded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) becomes the lead agency for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for locations requiring an USACE permit.
• If ROW is needed, the D-B team prepares the plans and gets the appraisals. GDOT makes the acquisitions.
• Utility coordination is the responsibility of the D-B team. It is typically not a problem because GDOT has the authority to pay for utility relocations in the contract, which encourages cooperation by the utility companies.
• Because they are State-funded, projects can be advertised without final environmental approvals. Approvals are usually received between award and start of construction. This helps speed up procurement.

Many traditional risks that accompany a D-B project are minimized because the RFP is so prescriptive. The biggest threats to D-B bridge bundles are:

• Regulatory agency review times.
• Maintaining favor with local contractors.
• The Engineer of Record staying engaged in construction rather than passing it off and moving on to the next location.

• A GEC represents GDOT for scope, RFP development, and review.
• The GDOT Bridge Section reviews the GEC and conducts final plan reviews.
• Construction inspection is completed by a third party and is paid for by GDOT.

• Worked with governor's office to set program goals.
• Met with industry to gain program support.
• Worked with the counties to select bridges.
• Conducts industry forum for bidders with opportunities for one-on-one meetings for each bundle.