The successful use of an innovative contracting strategy is
helping the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) ensure the timely completion of Virginia's Springfield
Interchange project, also known as the "Mixing Bowl."
The strategy, called a "No Excuses Incentive," involves
offering the contractor a significant bonus (typically 2 to 10 percent of the
contract's value) if "substantial completion" of the project is achieved by a
set date. "Substantial completion" is typically defined in the contract, and
the project engineer is usually authorized to make this determination. The
incentive is known as "No Excuses" because the date established to receive the
incentive will not be extended due to any delays that arise during
construction, even though such delays are normally granted extensions under
traditional contracting methods. These delays include those caused by work
disruptions, utility conflicts, design changes, right-of-way issues, permitting
issues, and weather conditions.
One of the first locations where this form of incentive saw
use in State highway projects was in Florida during the mid 1990s. These
projects covered the gamut from lane additions to resurfacing, bridge repair,
intersection improvement, and highway reconstruction.
In the case of the Springfield Interchange, VDOT and FHWA
opted to offer a No Excuses Incentive for Phases 2 and 3 of the 8-year project,
which is aimed at redesigning a complicated and historically congested
interchange in the vicinity of Springfield, Virginia, involving I-495 (the
Washington Beltway), I-95, and I-395. Approximately 430,000 vehicles a day
travel through the interchange. The incentive amounted to $10 million if the
work was completed on or before August 18, 2001, with the amount dropping to $5
million if completed on or before November 17, 2001, with the contract fixed
date for completing these project phases being June 1, 2002.
The project planners chose to use a No Excuses Incentive
because they wanted to proceed with construction even though certain
preparations typically made prior to construction had not been completed. When
the project was advertised for bid in September 1998, 55 right-of-way parcels
still needed to be procured, and much of the utility relocation work had yet to
be completed. Any contractor bidding on the project would need to work around
the utilities and unprocurred lots. It was determined that a No Excuses
Incentive was the optimal method for encouraging the contractor to remain on
schedule despite these difficulties, says Bob McCarty of FHWA's Virginia
Division Office. The incentive worked: even though the contractor did not have
full access to the construction site until right of entry had been obtained for
the final parcel in March 1999, and many utilities had to be relocated during
construction, the project phases were completed on schedule.
The contractor, Shirley Contracting Corp., received the full
$10 million incentive. "There was some extra work added to the project, which
delayed completion to June 2002, but as this additional work was not in the
original contract, the contractor was not penalized," says McCarty. "The No
Excuses incentive did help to complete the job quicker and with less total
traffic disturbance."
For more information on the use of the No Excuses incentive
for the Springfield Interchange Project, contact Bob McCarty at FHWA,
804-775-3349 (email: bob.mccarty@fhwa.dot.gov), or Larry Cloyed at VDOT, 703-313-6686
(email: Larry.Cloyed@VirginiaDOT.org). For more information on the project
in general, visit www.springfieldinterchange.com.
