BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 2098
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Miller
VERSION: 8/20/10
Analysis by: Jennifer Gress FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: August 30, 2010
SUBJECT:
Design-build on State Highway Route (SR) 91 in Riverside County
DESCRIPTION:
This bill authorizes the Riverside County Transportation
Commission (RCTC) to use the design-build method of procurement
for its SR 91 Corridor Improvement Project.
ANALYSIS:
Design-build refers to a procurement process in which both the
design and construction of a project are procured from a single
entity. Design-build stands in contrast to the traditional
design-bid-build contracting method whereby work on a project is
divided into two separate phases: design and construction. The
government agency is responsible for the design of the project,
either by designing it itself or by contracting with a private
entity to do so. When designs are completed, the agency
solicits bids from the construction industry and hires the
responsible low bidder to build the project. Design-build
combines these two phases into a single, comprehensive contract.
Senate Bill 4, Second Extraordinary Session, Chapter 2, Statutes
of 2009, authorized the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to utilize the design-build method of procurement for
10 state highway, bridge, or tunnel projects and it authorized a
local transportation agency to utilize design-build on five
local street or road, bridge, tunnel, or
AB 2098 (MILLER) Page 2
public transit projects within the jurisdiction of the local
agency, if approved by the
California Transportation Commission (CTC).
This bill :
Authorizes RCTC, a local agency, to utilize design-build for
the SR 91 Corridor Improvement Project, thereby increasing the
number of design-build projects authorized under SB 4 from 15
to 16.
Stipulates that Caltrans shall be responsible for construction
inspection services for the project, including, but not
limited to, surveying, testing the materials, verification
testing, monitoring of environmental compliance, quality
control inspection, and quality assurance audits.
Requires that there be a direct reporting relationship between
the inspectors and senior Caltrans engineers responsible for
construction inspection services.
Specifies that the senior Caltrans engineer responsible for
construction inspection services shall be responsible for the
acceptance or rejection of work.
Provides that Caltrans may use department employees or private
consultants to perform construction inspection services.
Provides that Caltrans shall ensure that public safety and
convenience is maintained whenever work is performed under an
encroachment permit within the state highway right-of-way and
authorizes Caltrans to stop the contractor's operation wholly
or in part when public safety is jeopardized.
Requires that the resources necessary for the performance of
construction inspection services on this project shall be
included in Caltrans' capital outlay support program in the
annual Budget Act.
Requires RCTC, not later than July 1 two years after the
design-build contract is awarded and each July 1 thereafter,
to submit a report on the progress of the project and its
compliance with the provisions of this bill to the
transportation policy committees in each house of the
Legislature.
AB 2098 (MILLER) Page 3
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose and background . RCTC is seeking to use design-build
because combining design and construction under a single
entity will allow construction on some elements of the project
to commence while design on other elements is ongoing, thus
accelerating overall project completion by an estimated three
to five years. Combining both under a single entity also
allows for greater cost and schedule certainty than
traditional design-bid-build. RCTC argues that congestion on
SR 91 in Riverside County is so great that the public interest
is best served by accelerating project completion to the
extent possible.
In September 2009, CTC adopted guidelines to implement
design-build under SB 4 that allowed local agencies to develop
projects on the state highway system. The Professional
Engineers in California Government (PECG) objected to the
guidelines at the time on the premise that SB 4 only
authorized Caltrans to use design-build on the state highway
system. Nevertheless, in April 2010, CTC approved RCTC's
request to use design-build for its SR 91 Corridor Improvement
Project. Since that time, PECG has threatened to litigate if
RCTC proceeds with design-build. This bill is needed to give
RCTC unambiguous authority to use design-build for the SR 91
project.
RCTC and PECG have worked for several months to address some
of PECG's concerns regarding the assignment of certain
responsibilities and have come to agreement on a "hybrid"
model of construction management that assigns construction
inspection services to Caltrans. This bill reflects that
agreement.
Under this "hybrid" model, Caltrans, rather than the local
agency, is responsible for performing what are referred to as
"boots-on-the-ground" construction inspections. These
inspectors, whether Caltrans personnel or consultants under
contract with Caltrans, will report directly to a senior
Caltrans engineer and the resident engineer employed by or
under contract with RCTC, as opposed to reporting only to the
local agency resident engineer.
Staff notes that the parties involved - RCTC, PECG, and
Caltrans - agree that the SR 91 Corridor Improvement Project
is a unique project and this "hybrid" model should not
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necessarily be considered a model to deploy on future
projects.
2.The SR 91 Corridor Improvement Project . SR 91 is the only
major surface transportation facility connecting Orange and
Riverside counties and is the primary commuting route between
the two counties. A portion of SR 91 in Orange County has
five general purpose lanes and two tolled express lanes. The
express lanes end at the Orange/Riverside county line.
SR 91 in Riverside County currently has four general purpose
lanes and one high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each
direction, with those lanes varying in width from 11 to 12
feet. The SR 91 Corridor Improvement Project extends the
express lanes east eight miles from the Orange/Riverside
county line to SR 15 in Riverside County. The resulting
facility will consist of five general purpose lanes and two
express lanes, all with a standard 12-foot width. (At most
times of day, high-occupancy vehicles, defined for the SR 91
express lanes as vehicles having three or more occupants, may
use the express lanes for free.)
The SR 91 Corridor Improvement Project also includes the
reconstruction of six interchanges with major arterial roads
in the City of Corona, a collector/distributor system of roads
that run parallel to the freeway lanes to facilitate vehicles
merging on and off the freeway, improvements to SR 15 between
the Ontario Avenue interchange and SR 91, and direct
connectors from SR 91 to southbound SR 15.
The project is currently about 2/3 of the way through the
environmental review process. RCTC anticipates issuing the
request for proposals for design-build contractors in February
2011 and awarding a contract in January 2012. Construction is
expected to be completed by late 2015.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 73-0
Trans: 12-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Friday,
August 27, 2010)
SUPPORT: Riverside County Transportation Commission
(sponsor)
AB 2098 (MILLER) Page 5
California Chamber of Commerce
CH2M Hill
Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce
Monday Morning Group
Orange Chamber of Commerce
Orange County Business Council
Orange County Transportation Authority
Self-Help Counties Coalition
Southern California Contractors Association
Western Riverside Council of Governments
OPPOSED: None received.