On April 8, INDOT posted on its website a draft request for proposals for the US 31 and I-465 Interchange Modification Project. This is INDOT’s first use of the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) progressive project delivery method. CMGC, along with Progressive Design-Build (PDB), were included in the 2023 Indiana House Enrolled Act 1049. The Indiana legislature passed House Enrolled Act 1196 in 2014 allowing Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) for state education institutions. House Bill 1196 added that other public agencies could begin using CMc in 2017 except for highway construction contracts. The 2023 law makes INDOT work the last public construction area to embrace this new contracting method.
CMGC and PDB both revolve around two-phase project delivery. In both methods, an owner contracts with a contractor (CMGC) or contractor-designer team (PDB) for the first phase to provide and/or assist with preconstruction services such as project development, permitting, utility coordination, design, schedule and cost estimating. Phase I culminates in the development of one, or multiple, guaranteed maximum price (GMP) packages. Upon owner GMP approval, the CMGC or PDB will proceed with Phase II construction scope. INDOT plans to retain an independent cost estimator (ICE) to provide scope, schedule and cost verification services during Phase I. The main difference between CMGC and PDB is that the owner contracts with the designer of record under the CMGC method while a designer contracts directly with a contractor under the PDB method.
A key purported benefit of the progressive project delivery methods is early collaboration during Phase I or development that includes comprehensive risk identification, analysis of time and costs associated with each risk and assignment of responsibility to mitigate risks if they are realized during the construction phase. The contractual tool used to record and track risks is called a risk register. The risk register becomes part of the contract documents agreed upon prior to moving to Phase II.
INDOT must receive at least two proposals prior to entering into a CMGC or PDB contract under Indiana law. INDOT Major Projects Division staff and their consultants have worked to get industry feedback over the past year through online solicitation, public meetings and meetings with ICI member companies. Indiana law limits INDOT to enter into two progressive contracts per year until 2028.
Contact INDOT Major Projects Delivery Director Jeff Clanton with questions.
