Use of the construction manager-general contractor process for highway project contracting, major highway project reports, and cost-benefit analyses of certain services related to transportation

For major highway projects of the first type, the project must generally receive the approval of the Transportation Projects Commission and the legislature (generally referred to as “enumeration") before the project may be constructed. For major highway projects of the second type, DOT must submit a report to TPC and request TPC approval to proceed with the project under a passive review process.

Once approved by TPC, the project is considered enumerated as a major highway project under the statutes.

Among the requirements of the program, DOT must provide TPC with any studies and cost estimates with respect to a proposed project that are requested by TPC.

This bill specifies that when DOT provides a full project cost estimate under this requirement, the estimate must include all costs associated with the project, including all costs before enumeration, design engineering and construction engineering costs, the costs of environmental studies, and costs of the project that are paid by another program of the department. A full project cost estimate must also include the expected date of completion and an estimate of the effects of construction cost inflation and unexpected costs on the cost of the project.

Also under current law, every six months, DOT must submit a report to the TPC that summarizes the current status of each major highway project and identifies all actual and estimated project costs, itemized by major cost categories, as of the date of preparation of the report. The project information included in these reports must be reported on both a cumulative basis from the inception of the project and on an updated basis for the period since the department's last report.

Under this bill, these reports must also include for each project the full project cost estimate of the project made for the commission as of the date of the commission's approval of the project. This bill also specifies that the report must treat separately and as described in the enumerating statute each project.

This bill also requires DOT to annually prepare and submit to certain legislative committees a report that provides all of the following information for each major highway project:

1. The full project cost estimate of the project as of the date of enumeration.

2. The year in which the department expects to complete the project as of the date of enumeration.

3. The costs incurred as of the date of preparation of the report.

4. The full project cost estimate as of the date of preparation of the report.

5. The year in which the department expects to complete the project as of the date of preparation of the report.

6. An explanation of any difference between the full project cost estimates under items 1. and 4.

7. The opinion of the department as to whether the project will be completed as originally scheduled without the allocation of additional funds.

The bill also specifies that this report must treat separately and as described in the enumerating statute each project.

Under current law, highway improvement projects undertaken by DOT must be executed by contract based on bids, with limited exceptions. This bill authorizes DOT, for no more than three highway improvement projects, to enter into contracts using a construction manager-general contractor process. Under this process, the department contracts with a provider of construction services to supervise the design work for the project and, subject to an acceptable proposal, contracts with the provider of construction services for construction of the project. This bill authorizes DOT to enter into no more than three design contracts utilizing the construction manager-general contractor process no later than July 1, 2021.

Under current law, DOT may engage engineering, consulting, surveying, or other specialized services and this engagement of services is exempt from certain provisions of law relating to state procurement. For an engagement of services of more than $300,000, DOT must conduct a uniform cost-benefit analysis before the engagement and must review periodically, and before any renewal, the continued appropriateness of the engagement. Under this bill, when DOT conducts a cost-benefit analysis under this provision, DOT must also consider and document the results of the analysis before determining whether to undertake the proposed engagement.