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various phases of the Town’ s Undergrounding Program. This is a method that is approved for use under the Town’ s procurement code and the Town staff has a history of success delivering large, complicated infrastructure projects under this method. The following sections reinforce this opinion based on the three areas of risk; schedule, level of service, and cost.
Schedule
The Town has placed a high priority on schedule. Because this is a phased program, a substantial delay in one phase can impact the ability to begin construction in a subsequent phase. These delays can create a domino effect that can impact the overall program schedule. This can lead to increased costs due to labor / material price increases over time. Additionally, there are technical reasons for performing certain construction tasks at certain times of the year. For example, highly disruptive roadway impacts are more desirable in the summer months because traffic volumes are at their lowest. Feeder transitions from the overhead to the underground system at the phase boundaries are much more desirable in the winter time when electrical demand is low. Performing these transitions during the hotter months can drive up costs because the process becomes more complicated to execute.
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CMAR has the ability to fast-track certain activities. Working with the design team, elements of the project design can be completed early so construction of those elements can commence in an expedited manner. This can be advantageous for infrastructure elements such as water and drainage improvements that may need to be constructed in advance of the undergrounding infrastructure due to sequencing requirements.
By obtaining constructability comments and perspectives from the CMAR during the design process, the Town can achieve schedule efficiencies that are not available under traditional DBB. Reducing the schedule duration will reduce the cost of the general conditions on the project.
Level of Service
A major criterion in choosing a project delivery method for this program is the delivery method’ s ability to accommodate the needs of various stakeholders in a complex environment. The Town works very hard to protect the interests of the community. A high level of service and responsiveness to community needs, desires, and concerns is considered a very high priority. The undergrounding program is fundamentally different than most Town projects in that the work in this case is not confined to Town property or the public right of
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way. The Town’ s contractor will be required to perform work on just about every private property in the entire Town. It is imperative that the Town’ s contractor perform work on private property in a manner that minimizes the disturbance to that property in order to reduce the risk of property owner claims against the Town and project cost escalation.
The ability to deliver the level of service to the community that they expect best aligns with the CMAR method. Because the CMAR selection process has a qualifications component, their reputations are very important to them. They are highly motivated to do a good job for their client as they are typically desirous of winning the next project for the same client. Additionally, because the Town retains a great deal of control over the actions of the CMAR, when the need for
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Worth Avenue undergounding – delivered under the CMAR project delivery method |