Washington seeks lower SR 520 bids through added flexibility

The goal for for opening bridge to traffic remains December 2014 but Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is providing more flexibility to open the new bridge to traffic by July 2015. It said that it believes the move could reduce risk and make for better bids on the project.

In meetings with the three design-build contractor teams competing for the project, the US state’s team heard that the level of risk associated with the contract schedule could result in higher bids for building the project.

After thorough discussion, WSDOT is extending the date for opening the bridge to traffic to 31 July, 2015. There will also be financial incentives of up to US$2.5 million for completing bridge work as early as 1 Dec 2014. All remaining work on the project still must be completed in 2016.

The cost savings for the state from lower bids are expected to outweigh the incentives offered, said WSDOT deputy transportation secretary Dave Dye. “We still have a very aggressive schedule and are committed to open in December 2014, but decided that the contractors should have an option. Providing schedule flexibility and financial incentives will reduce the risk for contractors and the state and result in lower bids,” Dye said.

Bids and technical proposals are due in to WSDOT on 8 June . Results will be tallied and a winning proposal identified on 13 July.

“We’re eager to see the innovations the contractor teams propose next month,” Dye said. The US$600 million to US$750 million construction contract includes assembling a new six-lane floating bridge with transit/HOV lanes and a bicycle-pedestrian path, building 44 concrete pontoons and connecting them to 33 pontoons under construction in Aberdeen.

The three prequalified design-build teams are Flatiron-Skanska-Traylor, Kiewit-General-Manson and 520 Corridor Constructors (Walsh Construction Company and Weeks Marine).

Building a new floating bridge on Lake Washington requires the winning contractor to navigate a complicated gauntlet of narrow construction work windows that help protect the environment. “The contractor will be working quickly and carefully to use each of the allowed work windows on Lake Washington, while also respecting the environment we build in,” said SR 520 program director Julie Meredith. In addition to environmental constraints, bidding teams identified other risks such as timely permit approvals and potential weather hurdles.