Design/Build in Transportation from the Research Perspective

Abstract

Design/build project delivery is an emerging methodology in the transportation industry, and its successful adoption will necessitate a transfer of lessons learned from those agencies with experience to those that are about to try it for the first time. The research community is seen an excellent catalyst for capturing data regarding design/build projects, appropriately analyzing those data, and distilling them into useful information of value to the industry as a whole. It is noted that the potential for cost savings through design/build is less on transportation projects than on construction projects, but the potential for time savings appears to be greater. Research on topics of immediate use to the transportation industry is seen as vital to the successful implementation of this project delivery system. There is a pressing need for reliable project performance metrics and a matrix of project characteristics that will make it possible to determine which projects are the best candidates for design/build.