Best-Value Procurement Methods for Highway Construction Projects

Abstract

Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board's recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs.

Improving cost performance in design-bid-build road projects by mapping the reasons for cost overruns into the project phases.

“…The best-value evaluation takes into account parameters such as time, quality, innovation, and team's qualification and performance. Aspects that require, in turn, the evaluation of the past performance of the team members and the company, the assessment of key personnel's qualifications, and the analysis of evidence related to companies' quality assurance and quality control program (Scott et al, 2006). Assessing, quantifying, and comparing this information enable road administrators to perform a comprehensive evaluation of all the proposers.…”

“…Further, in DB, public administrators generally use best-value procurement to select the teams that will develop the work (AASHTO, 2018). In best-value (unlike low bid procurement), decision-makers use several criteria in addition to price to award the contract (Scott, Molenaar, Gransberg, & Smith, 2006). Considering not only price in the selection makes it more likely to select the best contractor possible (Akcay & Manisali, 2018;Yu & Wang, 2012).…”