Notice of Public Comment Request Period Extension

The FHWA invites public comments about the annual submittal of minority employment and workforce data via FHWA form 1391 for all work performed or completed during the last payroll period in July. This report provides the employment workforce data on these contracts and includes the number of minorities, women, and non-minorities in specific highway construction job categories

You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the FHWA’s performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB’s clearance of this information collection.

Comments are due by January 13, 2025.

Please follow this link to access the federal notice that includes additional information and detailed instructions about how to submit comments.

Oversize-Overweight Violations

The Indiana Department of Revenue has posted a first notice for public comment concerning oversize-overweight violations.

The Department’s purpose of notice as published is as follows.

The Department of State Revenue (department) is soliciting public comment on adding rules at 45 IAC 22 concerning applying civil penalties to oversize-overweight violations. The department seeks comment on the affected citations listed and any other provisions of Title 45 that may be affected by this rulemaking.

The proposal includes added Indiana Administrative Code and details about how to submit comments. The notice can be found by following this link.

Notice is hereby given that on November 18, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., at the Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N248, Indianapolis, Indiana.

The purpose of this hearing is to receive comments from the public prior to consideration of adoption of these rules by DOR. All interested persons are invited and will be given reasonable opportunity to express their views concerning the proposed rules.

 

INDOT Contractor Payroll Management System, Update 3.0

Source: INDOT State Construction Engineer Joeseph Novak, P.E.

Please be advised that INDOT has been updating its current version of the Contractor Payroll Management System (CPMS) with a targeted go-live date of Monday 9/30/24. To do this CPMS may become unavailable starting Friday 9/27/24 at 6pm. Here are some of the changes to expect.

Simplified Document Upload
You can choose to upload payroll documents directly from the Contract Overview screen, but a new multi-document upload function will accept concurrent submission of multiple documents for different contracts, contractors and pay periods.

Document Types
Certified Payrolls and optional No Work Payroll documents (NWP) will require identification as such during upload.

Notifications
CPMS now takes full advantage of the ITAP Notification Platform with notifications taking you directly to the point-of-action from the CPMS dashboard, your email inbox, or directly from ITAP before you even open CPMS.

Document Status History
Changelogs for each Payroll Period are now available, providing transparency as to how a requirement was determined, how it was fulfilled, and when. Additionally, comments can be left for specific Payroll Periods – no more worrying about losing or missing emails.

Within the CPMS application will be a link to an updated user manual for reference. Questions may be directed to the respective INDOT District EEO Officer.

INDOT Piloting AASHTOWare Project

Source: Joe Novak, INDOT Construction Management

“INDOT is taking another step toward replacing its legacy construction management software, AASHTOWare Project (AWP) “SiteManager”, with its newer web-based version “Construction & Materials.” Six contracts will be selected from the May 2024 letting to use the new software with a currently estimated use for all contracts let on/after May 2025. Standard software vendor support for SiteManager ended in June 2023, all support will end in June 2027 although contracts can exist in the system longer.”

Novak added that INDOT does not expect any significant impacts on contractors during the AWP pilot projects. All Contractor interaction with ITAP applications is planned to remain intact. However, some report generation may not be fully available initially such as IC642’s and Progressive Records. INDOT is currently working to make the reports available.

Contact ICI Director of Government Affairs Dan Osborn with questions about the changes.

INDOT’s First CMGC Project

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.

INDOT Publishes Intelligent Work Zone Toolkit

INDOT’s Traffic Administration Office Manager Dave Boruff delivered an early Christmas present on Dec. 11 – notice that the long-anticipated Intelligent Work Zone Design and Implementation Toolkit is available on the Traffic Administration webpage.

“We started developing the Toolkit in 2020. In doing so, we reached out to manufacturers and contractors to get their input on content, the devices, and measures that should be included and how they should be described,” explained Boruff. “The idea behind the Toolkit is to help those involved with planning and implementing work zones become more familiar with treatments that may not currently be standardized but can help improve safety and mobility,” he added.

traffic queue truck

The Toolkit provides readers with equipment (tool) information, strategies and step-by-step guides to address work zone risks such as speed, detour alerts and lane shifts. One such tool is the queue truck warning system as shown in the image above.

ICI would like to thank INDOT for the collaborative execution of this toolkit as Boruff and other INDOT staff invited ICI and ACEC representatives to work on this initiative together.