Alternative contract method approved for bridge construction
At a recent meeting of the Multnomah County’s Board of Commissioners, an alternative contract method was approved for the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project in Portland.
The default public works contract method in the state of Oregon is a design-bid-build contract whereby as a contractor is engaged only after the project has been designed. The Board, however, has given the go-ahead to use the Construction Manager-General Contactor contract method, or CM/GC method, which permits the contractor to come on board early in the design’s phase.
According to Brian R. Smith, the county’s purchasing manager, Multnomah has in the past had success with the CM/GC method when working with particularly large and complex projects. Using the CM/GC method for the Sellwood Bridge saved the county tens of millions of dollars, as well as cutting off a year of construction time. The contractor was on hand to suggest transporting the existing bridge to serve as a detour bridge during construction of the new one.
Many municipalities depend on printing services to help explain the inner workings of local government to residents.
The County will be seeking CM/GC proposals this summer with an eye toward signing on a contractor for the Final Design phase this fall.
The Burnside Bridge replacement with an earthquake-ready crossing will be the largest capital project the County has undertaken to date, and is anticipated to cost between $800m and $900m. Assuming funding is secured, construction will start in 2025.
The default public works contract method in the state of Oregon is a design-bid-build contract whereby as a contractor is engaged only after the project has been designed. The Board, however, has given the go-ahead to use the Construction Manager-General Contactor contract method, or CM/GC method, which permits the contractor to come on board early in the design’s phase.
According to Brian R. Smith, the county’s purchasing manager, Multnomah has in the past had success with the CM/GC method when working with particularly large and complex projects. Using the CM/GC method for the Sellwood Bridge saved the county tens of millions of dollars, as well as cutting off a year of construction time. The contractor was on hand to suggest transporting the existing bridge to serve as a detour bridge during construction of the new one.
Many municipalities depend on printing services to help explain the inner workings of local government to residents.
The County will be seeking CM/GC proposals this summer with an eye toward signing on a contractor for the Final Design phase this fall.
The Burnside Bridge replacement with an earthquake-ready crossing will be the largest capital project the County has undertaken to date, and is anticipated to cost between $800m and $900m. Assuming funding is secured, construction will start in 2025.