The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) would like to notify contractors about an upcoming Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) project for the rehabilitation of the eastbound Blue Water Bridge, I-94/I-69EB over the St. Clair River (B04-3 of 77111), in the City of Port Huron, St. Clair County. Work includes replacing the HMA overlay and waterproofing membrane, joint repairs, full cleaning and coating of external superstructure steel, and concrete surface coating. The estimated construction cost for the proposed work is $28,000,000 with anticipated construction start in July of 2024. The required contractor pre-qualification is Fa at a minimum, but additional sub-classifications may be added. There will be no DBE component.
The proposed schedule is:
• Issue Request for Qualifications (RFQ) December 5, 2022
• Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) Due January 11, 2023
• Notification of Selected Submitter January 27, 2023
• Contract Award March 2023
• Begin Construction July 2024
The SOQs will include a cost component since MDOT will be utilizing Best Value selection. This requires contractors to include a price per specified task with the SOQ submittal for the preconstruction services.
Background:
A major issue for MDOT and their partner contractors on CMGC projects previously reported has been late contractor involvement during the design phase. A primary contributor to this issue is MDOT’s lengthy process to execute a preconstruction services contract with the contractor. The issue of late involvement on projects has been brought to MDOT’s attention by contractors at several lessons learned meetings because it reduces the impact the contractor can have on the design and reduces the effectiveness of the CMGC process. To remedy this situation, MDOT intends to utilize a best value procurement to select the CMGC contractor, in lieu of the Qualifications-Based Selection used in the past.
MDOT has used a Qualification-Based Selection process to select the CMGC contractor for past projects, and while this has been a successful approach to selecting the contractor, there have been issues executing preconstruction service contracts. Since they are providing professional services during the design phase (preconstruction services), a QBS-selected contractor is bound to pricing regulations that are intended for vendors such as a design consultant. The process for contractors to establish pricing for preconstruction services has been long and difficult. These longer timeframes during the contracting process have reduced the time available for the contractor to participate in the CMGC process and provide input during the design phase.
Best Value selection is intended to resolve this issue by establishing preconstruction service pricing as part of the selection, and thus expediting the contracting process. The contractor would not need to provide pricing information (overhead rate, certified hourly rates, etc.), as their pricing would be part of their Statement of Qualifications. This type of streamlined contracting process will allow the contractor to integrate with the design team earlier and have a greater influence on the project. Best Value selection is already used by MDOT to procure various vendor services, and the CMGC preconstruction services would follow a process based on existing best practices.
MDOT would like potential submitters to know that this is their first Best Value CMGC selection. MDOT will require all contractors to submit costs for each task that demonstrate an understanding of the level of effort required for a successful CMGC collaboration with the designer.
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If you have any questions, please contact Rachelle VanDeventer at rachellevandeventer@thinkmita.org, or Glenn Bukoski at glennbukoski@thinkmita.org, or call them at the MITA office at 517-347-8336.
