National Academies Press: OpenBook

Accelerating Transportation Project and Program Delivery: Conception to Completion (2010)

Chapter: Chapter 1 - Introduction and Background

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction and Background." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Accelerating Transportation Project and Program Delivery: Conception to Completion. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14405.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction and Background." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Accelerating Transportation Project and Program Delivery: Conception to Completion. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14405.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction and Background." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Accelerating Transportation Project and Program Delivery: Conception to Completion. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14405.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction and Background." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Accelerating Transportation Project and Program Delivery: Conception to Completion. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14405.
×
Page 7

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

4Introduction Delivering high-quality transportation programs and proj- ects on schedule and within budget is a goal shared by trans- portation departments and highway administrations across the United States. Each state presents a unique set of circum- stances for its DOT to overcome in carrying out its mission. Aging infrastructure, limited funding, community concerns, and political influences are just some of the factors that hin- der the expedient delivery of a program or project. Addition- ally, the changing demographic and economic trends of the American public pose another layer of difficulty for trans- portation professionals to expedite programs. With more individuals entering the workforce and relying on an already saturated network of roads and highways for their mobility needs, state officials have had to deal with the imbalance of higher demands and constrained outputs in surface trans- portation projects. In this environment, any tool or method shown to accelerate transportation program or project deliv- ery at the state level warrants a closer look and a serious assess- ment of its potential to succeed in a different state. In recent years, state DOTs have made advancements in improving project delivery by accelerating critical phases of a project, improving the communication among stakeholders, strengthening public outreach efforts, and expediting the per- mit approval processes by collaborating with environmen- tal agencies. However, none of these efforts lend themselves to a holistic approach in program and project delivery. By their very nature, they are segmented and provide only brief accelerations in project delivery. Several states have taken a broader approach to deliver- ing programs and projects. Expanding on smaller successes, combining winning strategies, and taking a holistic approach to project delivery have all led to reduced time frames and, in some cases, cost savings in delivering projects. States are taking on more risks and trying innovative procedures to meet milestone dates and open facilities to the public as promised. These successes have been realized through processes that view the projects as one continuous, fluid endeavor from beginning to end. This report examines the characteristics, methods, and practices employed by the DOTs of eight states, identified through a literature review and selected for their represen- tative characteristics, to aid in accelerating their programs and projects. In addition, this report presents an analysis of the common trends—and the common challenges—that surfaced during the research. What becomes patently clear in studying each of the investigated states is that today’s finan- cial, social, environmental, and political climates are vastly different from what they were 50 years ago. This change, combined with an ever-increasing population and matur- ing infrastructure, demands that transportation agencies examine and adjust their goals, objectives, and methods on an ongoing basis to accomplish their mission and provide the public with an outstanding roadway network. This report is intended to benefit individuals involved in the planning, implementation, and management of public transportation programs and projects at the state level, par- ticularly in the area of highways and bridges. It is recom- mended that users of this report have the following basic skills and/or background: • An understanding of project management principles for highway design, construction, and maintenance, within the context of a state DOT • Familiarity with the federal funding process for transporta- tion projects through approved transportation improvement plans developed by metropolitan planning organizations • An understanding of federal and state environmental and other regulatory permitting and approval processes, right- of-way, and utilities • A basic knowledge of contracting methods for procurement of professional, construction, and management services C H A P T E R 1 Introduction and Background

Background Transportation projects, which include highways, bridges, and railroads, have a large impact on the immediate economic and social environment. Their effects are felt over many years as they change the physical landscape and transform the qual- ity of human life by allowing regions to become accessible. In general, large projects have such a multitude of interwoven components and stakeholders that completing them on sched- ule, on budget, and to acceptable standards becomes a com- plex challenge. Another challenge presents itself in maintain- ing these large capital investments over many years while strengthening relationships and coalitions with stakeholders and political leaders. Equally important are the smaller trans- portation projects which maintain, reconstruct, or expand existing facilities, or undertake emergency repairs. These proj- ects compete for limited resources while customers demand higher-quality transportation options and cost-efficient solu- tions delivered in a timely manner with minimal disruption. Meeting the transportation goals in today’s fast-paced, ever- changing landscape requires a holistic approach. Typically, a project begins with an idea or a concept to meet an identified need, which then graduates to the planning phase. It is then programmed and moves through design to reach the final construction phase, sometimes many years later. The lengthy planning, design, and construction processes are often further slowed down by complex issues related to envi- ronment, community, property acquisitions, and funding. A goal of many transportation programs and projects in today’s environment is for all aspects to be accelerated in one way or another so that benefits are realized in time and cost savings, without a sacrifice in the quality of the final product. Estab- lished acceleration techniques and strategies tend to address only one or two phases of the project at a time. Phases are seg- mented, and many acceleration tools and best practices apply only to a given phase. There are numerous impediments to developing a project with an approach that envisions the en- tire project, with all of its intricate issues, from conception to completion. One of the goals of this research is to uncover those processes by which state DOTs have made paradigm shifts toward accelerating projects holistically. In the course of obtaining information from eight DOTs from around the country, numerous methods leading to accelerated project delivery were identified and analyzed. A considerable amount of published research on accelerat- ing project delivery has focused on practices to speed comple- tion of various phases of the project delivery process. However, few of these studies have taken a holistic approach to the entire delivery process from the first idea for a project to the opening for use by the public. Most of the agencies implementing transportation programs and projects are organized by sequential work phases. This organization often creates hand-offs from one unit to another, in many cases leading to problems in project delivery stem- ming from changing managers, circumstances, resources, pri- orities, and influence. In addition, expediting transportation projects is also affected by an agency’s organizational struc- ture. Efficiency can be achieved via both process and organi- zational design. Often, overall strategic plans that foster an accelerated approach need to be implemented. These plans should hold their course throughout all phases of a project and be clearly supported throughout the organization. Much has been done to increase the flexibility of funding and promote multimodal transportation, but there has been little change in the process of implementing projects since the road building era of the 1960s and the regulatory era of the 1970s. For example, in 2001, the average time required for major highways and airports to advance from planning to opening was 13 years and 10 years, respectively. Environ- mental permitting alone took more than three years (one- third of the planning time) to acquire. (1) In today’s strained economic environment, where resources and funding are limited, it is unacceptable to delay transportation projects for so long by processes that perhaps could be shortened. Yet the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transporta- tion Officials (AASHTO) stated in a 2002 report that delays to project delivery were related to intrinsic flaws. Figure 1 indi- cates that unsuccessful delivery of a project was due to four pre- dominant reasons: (a) lack of funding, (b) local controversy, (c) low priority, and (d) complexity of the project. (2) NCHRP Project 20-24 compared state DOTs’ construc- tion project costs and schedule performance. The review of approximately 26,500 projects across 20 states revealed that in almost 50 percent of the cases, projects were not delivered on time. For projects over $5 million, 65 percent of the proj- ects were not delivered on time. Other factors causing delays in project delivery are utility conflicts, right-of-way (ROW) acquisitions, environmental and political issues, and inade- quate coordination between agencies and stakeholders. Many of these concerns can be addressed through programs that provide a holistic approach to program and project delivery. The statistical trends are worth a second glance. America’s population is expected to reach 420 million in the next 50 years. In the last 40 years, highway lane miles have increased by 6 per- cent while vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has increased by 194 percent. While business travel has kept pace with growth in employment, social and recreational travel has doubled in the last four decades. Because over 88 percent of workers com- mute in private vehicles, commuter traffic heavily impacts U.S. highways. The nation’s interconnected transportation network moves about 12 billion ton-miles per day. All of these trends continue to have a direct impact on the transportation network. (1) 5

To date, what is absent from the literature research is documentation of any holistic programs and projects that demonstrate how programs and projects are managed and accelerated from conception to completion. This absence in itself substantiates the need to research best practices that can provide state decision makers with some options for acceler- ating their programs and projects. Scope of Study Research began in July 2007 with a literature search, using key search words, to review serial publications, professional journals, articles, and databases to identify primary strategies and practices for accelerating programs and project delivery. Approximately 200 annotated references were generated from this search. These were reviewed to identify those strategies, best practices and methodologies currently being used to accel- erate programs and projects across the United States. In reviewing the literature, the research team noted that some states contributed more frequently to the body of pub- lished information on this topic. In addition, certain accel- eration strategies were better documented than others. The research team maintained its focus on techniques and best practices that provided a holistic approach on project accel- eration from conception to completion. The results of the literature search were reviewed to nar- row the list of states selected for further consideration. Case studies for final selection had to represent a range in size and scope of programs and projects, activities in rural and urban areas, and activities in large and small transportation agencies. The difficulty arising from this task was due to the large num- ber of states that exhibited projects and programs that led to expedited project delivery. Many examples were cited in which some aspect of the project was accelerated so that the end result was a project completed on a shorter schedule. Other reviewed articles and reports highlighted large, complex projects that are not the typical project for implementation. Owing to their larger budgets and political support, such projects often got priority both within agencies and externally as well. Apart from selecting such case studies, the team also had to research states that delivered basic operations and mainte- nance (“meat and potatoes”) types of projects. These ongoing programs ensure infrastructure is in a state of good repair and systems are operating as effectively as possible. Narrowing down the long list of exceptionally well-documented exam- ples of successful projects and programs was challenging. The team relied on selection criteria and panel comments to assist with the final list of states that resulted. The preparation for interviewing the selected eight states required a flexible approach. In addition to individual inter- 6 Source: FHWA, Reasons for Project Delays, 2002 Figure 1. Reasons for project delay.

views, the team felt that discussion panels or a workshop type of environment would help draw information from partic- ipants, as a group setting would elicit more discussion. By involving key staff members from different divisions and var- ious backgrounds, the discussion format allowed participants to hear different perspectives of an issue. Minutes were recorded by the research team at interviews and panel discussions carried out at each of the eight state DOT headquarters. Follow-up emails and conversations continued for clarification of discussion details. Then began the inten- sive task of developing case studies for each of the interviewed states. The research team continued with an analysis of the research findings and identified key points to focus on for each state DOT. Transcriptions of interviews, meeting minutes, printed materials, and online sources, including the state DOT websites, served as source material for the case studies. Data Collection Approach The literature review for this project followed a multistep approach. First, the team reviewed the relevant TRB references and the “Scoping Study for an AASHTO Guide on Accelerat- ing Project Delivery” to identify preliminary references, search terms, and appropriate search engines. The identified terms mirrored those in the proposal: • Project acceleration • Project management • Improving transportation project delivery/project delivery time factors/project delivery delays • Environmental streamlining • Bracketing planning and environmental analysis • Engineering quality survey mapping • Constructability reviews • Milestone reviews • Substantial completion reviews • Proactive ROW acquisition • A + B contracting • Incentive payments/disincentive penalties • Lane rental • No excuse completion dates • Innovative construction techniques Second, the team conducted a general Internet search for relevant resources and then progressed to a specific search using search engines available through Virginia Tech library subscriptions. Search engines included Google, Factiva, JSTOR, Science Direct, Mergent Online, Lexis/Nexis Academic, ProQuest, and Compendex. Approximately 195 of the identified articles concerned some aspect of project acceleration. These articles were sorted into 10 categories: • Construction • Contracting • Project development, process, design and funding • Environment • Monitoring • Multiproject factors • Personnel issues • Political and public relations • Strategic planning, organization and culture • Teamwork The research team then revisited the search and broadened it to include the following sources and search terms: • Dissertation Abstracts Online—This database includes over two million records for dissertations and theses from the United States, Canada, Britain, and other European countries. Abstracts are available since 1980 for most disser- tations and since 1988 for most theses. The database includes dissertations and theses dating back to 1861. No full text is available from this database. • Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations— The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Union Catalog is intended to serve as a repository of rich graduate educational material contributed by a number of member institutions worldwide, with the hope that this project will increase the availability of student research for scholars. Most of the included theses and dissertations are available in full text online. • WorldCat Dissertations and Theses—All dissertations, theses, and published material based on theses and dis- sertations cataloged by Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) member libraries. • Organizational theory and structure-specific references. (These terms were included in the initial search. This search was meant to provide more theoretical references that might have been overlooked during the initial search.) • Document management references. 7

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 662: Accelerating Transportation Project and Program Delivery: Conception to Completion explores the experiences of eight state departments of transportation that made improvements in their project delivery and examines the lessons to be learned from their experiences.

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