Innovations in Project Delivery Method Selection Approach in the Texas Department of Transportation

Abstract

In delivering highway infrastructure projects, the private and public sectors have gone beyond the traditional design/bid/build approach. They now often implement alternative delivery methods, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is no exception. TxDOT received legislative authority to use the design/build method of project delivery from the 82nd Texas Legislature, which became effective in September 211. The provision of an additional delivery method created a need for a formal decision process to select between design/bid/build and design/build methods. This work presents a decision support tool developed for TxDOT. The tool was created based on literature review findings as well as the agency’s specific needs, experiences, and legal authority. Taking into consideration 12 project characteristics and 4 project goals, the tool guides the agency’s staff to an objective choice. The decision method was formalized using a multicriteria decision-making process and organized as a Microsoft Excel–based decision support tool. Customized for TxDOT’s institutional climate, the tool incorporates knowledge from TxDOT experts as well as from other organizations that work closely with the agency. Notwithstanding such customization, the lessons learned from the tool’s development—including the approach to the tool and its formal separation of project characteristics from project goals—represent an advancement to existing decision-making frameworks and process. In particular, the tool adopts a quantitative approach and makes a significant innovation by methodologically separating the project characteristics favoring a particular delivery method from the stated project goals. These advances can assist decision makers in other entities for developing objective approaches to support delivery method selection for their institutional needs and requirements.