Key Challenges in Megabridge Design–Build Project Procurement

Abstract

Megabridge projects are those that cost more than $500 million to complete from the planning stages through completion of construction. In the evolving field of transportation design–build (DB) project delivery, it is imperative that the procurement process provide selection criteria that aligns with the needs and the expectations of the owner while providing the proposers with a clear path toward project award and delivery. This study employed in-depth interviews and case studies to ascertain areas of weakness in the procurement process. To obtain a deeper understanding of these weaknesses, we developed a survey limited to responses from transportation design–build subject matter experts. It is evident through this study that five key challenges exist: (1) design–build megabridge project procurements are unique; (2) transparency of technical scoring criteria and assigned weight need improvement; (3) there are misalignments in identification of major criteria versus weight of criteria; (4) key criteria differ from more typically sized projects; and (5) price is viewed by proposers as the top scoring criteria. These challenges can hinder respondents’ ability to fully utilize the potential of design–build. This research is the first study to identify key challenges in project procurement and request for proposal (RFP) development in the context of megabridge projects within the transportation DB industry. The findings presented in this paper provide a better understanding of key challenges in project procurement and provides insight into potential opportunities for improvement. Further transparency in RFP scoring could lead to RFPs and proposals with reduced possibilities for selection protests while maximizing the benefits of design–build project delivery.