Category: INDOT

Stormwater Master General Permit in Final Stages

Posted on by Dan Osborn

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is in the late stages of a process transitioning from a permit by rule to a Master General Permit (MGP) for the three stormwater programs currently administered through Indiana Administrative Code (Rules). The three programs effected are Construction Stormwater (“Rule 5”) (327 IAC 15-5), Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (“MS4s”) (327 IAC 15-13), and Industrial Stormwater (327 IAC 15-6). The change was spurred in 2016 via urging of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

IDEM developed draft language and engaged an advisory group in 2017. The advisory group, including representation from ICI, ACEC, INDOT and several other local and statewide stakeholder groups, met with IDEM leadership in multiple sessions throughout 2017 and 2018 to review and discuss draft language, current practices, and improvements. Brian Wolff, IDEM surface water and operations branch chief recently sent a notice to advisory group members thanking them for their participation.

“The draft language presented to the advisory group was vastly different from the output representing compromises for stakeholders and significant collaboration,” said Wolff, when asked about successes of this effort.

As an advisory member, ICI’s Director of Government Relations Dan Osborn appreciated IDEMs openness and active listening to considering stakeholder input throughout the process.

After finalizing the language in 2018, IDEM submitted the document to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review. After two years of review, public comment sessions, and revisions, IDEM received a notice of “non-objection” from the EPA. Wolff explained that the permits have been submitted to the Indiana Governor’s office for signature consideration. After 15 days, the permit will be submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office for further processing. The permits become effective after a 30-day wait period post publishing of the final language. Wolff noted that owners or permittees of current permits will need to file for an “amendment-continue of coverage” under the new MGP within 90 days of the MGP effective date. IDEM cannot continue coverage under 327 IAC 15-5 for projects that will continue to operate once 327 IAC 15-5 is repealed.

IDEM has posted a copy of the MGPs and associated public comments/questions and has scheduled two public information sessions. Please see information and links below.

The information session on the Construction Stormwater General Permit will take place on November 16th at 10:00 AM
Zoom Link : https://zoom.us/j/94985414355?pwd=ak9kRXlHakZBOGtRdldkVHRPU1Q0Zz09&from=addon
Telephone: 301-715-8592 or 312-626-6799 or 646-876-9923 or 346-248-7799 or 408-638-0968 or 669-900-6833 or 253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 949 8541 4355
Passcode: 841374
Question Form: https://forms.office.com/g/1rXLXQyX8v

The information session for the MS4 General permit will take place on November 30th at 10:00 AM
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/92346799028?pwd=bWR1YksveGgvckZJVmFlNm1SdExTZz09&from=addon
Telephone: 312-626-6799 or 646-876-9923 or 301-715-8592 or 253-215-8782 or 346-248-7799 or 408-638-0968 or 669-900-6833
Meeting ID: 923 4679 9028
Passcode: 710924
Question form: https://forms.office.com/g/GAS7dWxbBB

INDOT/DOR Working to Improve OSW Permitting

Posted on by Dan Osborn

Several ICI members recently communicated concerns to me about oversize/overweight (OSW) load permitting. Members stated that, as the newly instituted OSW permitting system works well for the majority of loads and routes, concerns remain including difficulty delivering equipment to project sites and unusual long and broken up routing. While members have worked diligently to communicate issues directly to the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) and INDOT, ICI’s Director of Government Affairs Dan Osborn followed up with agency contacts to emphasize industry concerns and determine what industry, the DOR and INDOT could do to avoid the issues.

INDOT Multimodal Director Kristen Brier responded to ICI. She explained that the new permitting system includes a more comprehensive evaluation process including “vehicle configuration, origin, and destination to automatically generate a safe route safe route, taking into account road restrictions and closures, vertical clearances for bridges, and bridge load rating.”

“We are working with our vendor to make the location of the failed bridges visible externally, to help applicants determine if a different origin or destination on the state system will avoid those bridges. Information about the road restrictions and closures can be displayed within the permitting system, and it remains available on the Indiana Truckers’ Info page. Bridge vertical clearance information remains available as well, through the online Bridge Clearance Map,” stated Brier.

Brier offered several agency contacts to assist permittees. Contact INDOT Freight Manager Leslie Morgan to disclose unsafe routes or difficulty with a permit involving accessing a project site.

If you need help using the new permitting system, contact DOR Motor Carrier Services Division OSW Supervisor James Vest or Morgan.

Contact Dan Osborn if you have feedback or recommendations about any aspect of OSW permitting.

IDIQ Approved for Permanent Use

Posted on by Dan Osborn

For more than a decade, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has allowed limited use of the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) project delivery method. Effective November 16, 2020, per the FHWA’s interim final rule under 23 CFR 635, states are allowed to use of IDIQ and job order contracting (JOC) on federal aid contracts on a permanent basis under certain circumstances. The FHWA states that “allowing ID/IQ contracting on a permanent basis provides benefits to state departments of transportation (state DOT) and other contracting agencies, including expediting project delivery, increasing administrative efficiency, reducing project costs, and increasing flexibility for state DOTs to use federal-aid funds on certain projects.

FHWA is soliciting public comment about IDIQ and JOC. The comments deadline is January 15. The official notice document, as well as the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), supporting materials and all comments received may be viewed online through the Federal eRulemaking portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. An electronic copy of the notice document may also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register’s home page at: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register and the Government Publishing Office’s web page at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys.

FHWA Requesting Comments – Implementation of IDIQ

Posted on by Dan Osborn

The US DOT published an interim final rule authorizing IDIQ contracts for Federal Aid construction. IDIQ project delivery generally refers to a not-to-exceed contract for a set time period that requires a contractor to execute as-needed work orders based on agreed upon unit prices.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began a two-step rule-making process to authorize indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) project delivery in May of 2018. The first step involved developing the implementation processes and procedures. Step 2 is initiation of the rule-making process. FHWA is soliciting comments to 13 questions. The questions are located on page 10 of 16 (Fed. Reg. pg. # 72928).

INDOT and other state departments of transportation have awarded IDIQ contracts since 2018 under a FHWA experimental project (SEP-14). FHWA and state DOTs found success using IDIQ stating that the project delivery method reduces administrative costs by eliminating the quantity of small project design-bid processes. INDOT has utilized IDIQ in several districts for small bridge and roadway repair and improvement projects. Beginning on Nov. 16, state DOTs may utilize the IDIQ project delivery method for select scopes of work without specific FHWA authorization.

You may submit comments, identified by the document number at the top of this document, by any of the following methods:

  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
  • Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
  • Hand Delivery/Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-9329.

ICI-Side Wrapup

Posted on by Dan Osborn

ICI members met virtually on Oct. 22 for the ICI-Side ICI/INDOT Statewide Joint Cooperative Committee meeting and covered a wide range of topics.

Members reported continued collaboration with INDOT to utilize new technology and equipment to improve work zone safety in 2020, such as the trucks for advanced queue awareness vehicles and work zone intelligent traffic messaging systems. Law enforcement officer presence continues to be an industry favorite to get motorists’ attention and slower speeds.

Keith Mullens, ICI/INDOT Statewide Joint Cooperative Committee co-chair, reported that ICI is working with INDOT on a recently published contractor schedule unique special provision. He explained that INDOT’s primary goals are improving accuracy of public communication of key project dates and increasing contractor schedule submissions and quality.

INDOT has received issue resolution proposals for the following topics:

  • Payment of lump sum items.
  • Measurement and payment for MOT sign.
  • Payment for subgrade treatment type IC as IB
  • Box structure footing closure pours.
  • The proposals are based on a culmination of joint committee discussions and recommendations.

The Statewide Committee leadership will be considering:

  • Maintenance of traffic under live bridge demolition.
  • Greater use of temporary traffic signals in lieu of flaggers.
  • Urging INDOT and local public works entities to refrain from allowing utility relocation after construction contract notice-to-proceed.

The ICI/INDOT Statewide Joint Cooperative Committee leadership will meet in early November to review current agenda items and discuss new topics. The full Statewide Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2. RSVP here.

Please contact Dan Osborn for questions, suggestions and comments concerning the ICI/INDOT Statewide and Region Joint Cooperative Committees.

Purdue Research of Information Modeling Process/Contract/Technology for INDOT Infrastructure Projects

Posted on by Dan Osborn

Dear Madam/Sir,

We would like to invite you to participate in a study for INDOT to improve the current process, contract, and technology of infrastructure projects. This study is conducted by the Construction Animation, Robotics, and Ergonomics (CARE) Lab in School of Construction Management Technology at Purdue University. The IRB number is IRB-2019-634.

This study includes (1) remote interviews between 10/12/2020 and 12/4/2020, and (2) an online survey between 2/26/2021 and 4/8/2021 to get feedback and insight from experts about the current process, organization structure, information formats, and technologies in design, construction, and O&M of INDOT projects.

We wish to have (1) 6-24 participants for the interview, including 4-15 project managers and 2-5 design staff, and (2) another 30 participants for the survey, including 20 project managers and 10 design staff.

If you are interested in participating in the interview or survey, please help indicate your availability through https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8iZIpLKQcuIbMax. The interview will be held virtually at the time slot you select, and the survey will be sent to you through an email.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the study or have any difficulty accessing the link. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this study!

Sincerely,

Yunfeng (Cindy) Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, chen428@purdue.edu
Jiansong Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, zhan3062@purdue.edu
Xingzhou Guo, Ph.D. Student, guo529@purdue.edu
Chi Tian, Ph.D. Student, tian154@purdue.edu

Construction Animation, Robotics, and Ergonomics (CARE) Lab

School of Construction Management Technology, Purdue University