Performance Effectiveness of Design-Build, Lane Rental, and A + B Contracting Techniques
Kelly Strong
March 2006
http://www.lrrb.org/pdf/200609.pdf (0.4MB)
Experimentation with innovative contracting methods over the last several years has produced several techniques recently formally approved for use by the Federal Highway Administration. While the FHWA has recognized and defined many standard practices for innovative contracting, the need has arisen to compare the effectiveness of different innovative contracting methods to each other. Performance and cost and value implications of A+B contracts, design-build contracts, lane rental contracts, and traditional contracts were investigated. Specific performance and cost measures considered are Administration Costs, Project Costs, Management Complexity, Disruption to Third Parties, RUC, Innovation, Product/Process Quality, and Funding Flexibility. Performance parameters are compared on nine different project types; the methodology utilized a survey of national experts who rated each innovative contracting method for each performance factor on each of the project types. This study resulted in fifteen recommendations for improving management practices in the use of innovative contracting for transportation projects. These recommendations are also intended to assist the Minnesota Department of Transportation in determining which contract method is likely to be most effective given certain project criteria and construction options and to determine directions for future research, particularly on emerging methods such as design-sequencing and A + B + C contracting.
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