Iowa Pavement Asset Management Decision-Making Framework

Most local agencies in Iowa currently make their pavement treatment decisions based on their limited experience due primarily to lack of a systematic decision-making framework and a decision-aid tool. The lack of objective condition assessment data of agency pavements also contributes to this problem. This study developed a systematic pavement treatment selection framework for local agencies to assist them in selecting the most appropriate treatment and to help justify their maintenance and rehabilitation decisions. The framework is based on an extensive literature review of the various pavement treatment techniques in terms of their technical applicability and limitations, meaningful practices of neighboring states, and the results of a survey of local agencies. The treatment selection framework involves three different steps: pavement condition assessment, selection of technically feasible treatments using decision trees, and selection of the most appropriate treatment considering the return-on-investment (ROI) and other non-economic factors. An Excel-based spreadsheet tool that automates the treatment selection framework was also developed, along with a standalone user guide for the tool. The Pavement Treatment Selection Tool (PTST) for Local Agencies allows users to enter the severity and extent levels of existing distresses and then, recommends a set of technically feasible treatments. The tool also evaluates the ROI of each feasible treatment and, if necessary, it can also evaluate the non-economic value of each treatment option to help determine the most appropriate treatment for the pavement. It is expected that the framework and tool will help local agencies improve their pavement asset management practices significantly and make better economic and defensible decisions on pavement treatment selection

An Exploration of Early Work Packaging in Construction Manager/General Contractor Highway Projects

Recently, state agencies have been successfully implementing construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) delivery on highway projects. While early work packaging is frequently cited in the literature as a primary benefit of CM/GC, there is limited to substantiate or refute these benefits. Additionally, agencies need a better understanding of the current state-of-practice of early work packing in CM/GC to help with effective implementation. In an ongoing Federal Highway Agency research project, 12 of 34 completed CM/GC projects reported the use early work packaging, and will be the focus of this study. Research methods used within this paper include: literature review, content review of agency manuals/instructions, project surveys, agency interviews, and case studies. Triangulated findings suggest that early work packaging can contribute to expediting project completion, mitigating project risks, reducing project cost, and minimizing public impacts. To achieve these outcomes, agencies must perform detailed planning to generate severable/independent packages that take into account all potential impacts to the project. Trends in data indicate that early work packages can lead to cost savings, yet the sample size does not provide statistical significance. Future research should explore the performance of a larger data set of CM/GC projects with and without early work packaging along with a cost/benefit analysis of early work packages

Emergency Megaproject Case Study Protest: The Interstate Highway 35 West Bridge

When a disaster destroys a vital piece of infrastructure, such as an interstate highway or a large bridge, the procurement must be developed in a manner that expedites the restoration of services with the shortest schedule practical. Expediting an emergency restoration of services project event makes the selection of the appropriate procurement procedure complicated by the need to emphasize schedule over cost and quality. The need to waive or limit statutory rules for open competition increases the risk of protests. This paper presents the results of the case study of the emergency restoration of services award protest for the Interstate Highway 35 West in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The paper concludes that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) successfully defended itself against an award protest because it published the details of the project’s proposal evaluation plan, making it transparent, and strictly followed the plan throughout the procurement and award process

Carbon Footprint Cost Index: A Pavement Case Study

Public projects for pavement and pavement maintenance are often based on budgets set by capital improvement budgets. A better way for determining the cost of sustainability in infrastructure costs is needed. The capital budget limitation causes an issue for the owner. The municipality must construct projects with a focus solely on initial cost and cannot include sustainability requirements due to the perceived additional cost. Sustainability can often be viewed as subjective. Utilizing the carbon footprint as the basis for the decision creates a much more objective evaluation of sustainability in pavements. A case study illustrating a carbon footprint cost index is presented

Contractor-Furnished Compaction Testing: Searching for Correlations Between Potential Alternatives to the Nuclear Density Gauge in Missouri Highway Projects

The Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) past and present Quality Control and Quality Assurance programs for construction are examined. MoDOT’s present Quality Management program along with a small number of grading projects has lowered the number of Quality Assurance (QA) soil compaction tests completed in the past two years. The Department would like to rid itself of using the Nuclear Density Gauges because of burdensome Federal regulations, required training, security and licensing fees. Linear and multiple regression analysis was performed to see if a correlation between nuclear density gauge dry densities values and Light Weight Deflectometer modulus values/ Clegg Hammer Clegg Impact Values exist. These relationships or lack thereof will determine the technology used by construction contractors to perform compaction quality control testing if MoDOT moves away from using nuclear density gauges for soil density verification

A Comparative Analysis of Alliancing and Integrated Project Delivery on Complex Projects: Parallel Systems Sharing a Common Objective

Relational contracting methods are a natural evolution from the many versions of project delivery that have been developed over the past two decades aimed at increasing the amount of integration and collaboration among mega-project stakeholders. Alliancing was born in the 1990’s in North Sea oilfields and imported down under to Australia and New Zealand where it has used to deliver over 300 complex projects. The litigious environment present in the North American construction sector led project owners to implement partnering programs to enhance the quality of relationships on projects of all sizes delivered using the full spectrum of delivery methods. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) made its appearance in 2002, employing nonbinding partnering program objectives into multi-party relational contracts. While developed separately, alliancing and IPD share the same objective: an environment where decisions are made on a “best-for-project” basis and all stakeholders share the both the pain and the gain associated with ultimate project performance. This paper chronicles the evolution of project delivery methods, as well as their successes and failures. The paper finds that each approach has been tailored to maximize collaboration within each culture’s legal and business environment. It also finds that alliancing appears to offer the most advantages and has a well-documented record of success. Lastly, the paper recommends that the commercial building project IPD currently used in North America needs to be revised to increase its potential on complex megaprojects