Remove legislative barriers to design-build projects
The vital connection between America’s infrastructure and the well-being of our citizenry is never more apparent than in times of crisis.
Rebuilding communities in Texas and Florida will be an immense task; however, there are important lessons to be learned after Hurricanes Katrina, Irene and Sandy that could also be utilized to make infrastructure better and stronger as we rebuild. Unfortunately, there are legislative obstacles to that reconstruction in Texas.
Texas limits the use of design-build project delivery, which has been at the heart of modern-day disaster reconstruction from hurricanes to the Pentagon rebuild after 9/11 and the Minneapolis Interstate 35 bridge collapse in 2007. Design-build isn’t new and it’s not radical; however, it does require public owners — such as cities, states and the federal government — to provide flexibility in the procurement process by allowing designers and builders to collaborate earlier in the process. This creates projects that allocate risks more efficiently and improving delivery time and budget. That authority is lacking in Texas.
Though Hurricane Harvey destroyed many small Texas communities, under current law, only local government entities with populations over 100,000 are permitted to use design-build without restriction. Rebuilding efforts should be equitable across all damaged areas, not just in large cities. This is a legislative obstacle to Harvey recovery efforts that Texas communities simply cannot afford, especially the many small cities like Rockport and Port Aransas, which will desperately need the innovation, time and cost efficiencies central to the design-build delivery system.
The Texas Department of Transportation is also limited to using designbuild on just three state highway projects per year — and those projects must cost $150 million or more. The limit is arbitrary and, given the enormity of the reconstruction challenges facing Texas, wholly inadequate to the challenge. The need is immense and the response must be equal to that challenge. Design-build can deliver in Texas just as it has in so many other communities rebuilt after a disaster, if given the chance.
Design-build was integral to the state of Louisiana’s recovery effort after Katrina. Among the many vital post-Katrina design-build projects were the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers critical pump station repairs in St. Bernard parish and the Twin Spans’ Bridge repair over Lake Pontchartrain. Following Hurricane Irene, which devastated parts of upstate New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo used emergency authority to authorize repairs using design-build, delivering many important infrastructure projects more efficiently and cost-effectively than using traditional methods.
Design-build was also critical to the recovery after Hurricane Sandy devastated New York and New Jersey. Not only did design-build speed the delivery of vital projects, the collaboration and innovation central to the process allowed project teams to innovate with an eye toward resiliency to better protect against future events. After Sandy, the Long Island Railroad used design-build to make needed drainage improvements including construction of a combination of deployable and permanent walls to defend against future flood surges.
From Louisiana to New York and beyond, design-build innovation had allowed project teams to utilize advanced design techniques and materials rebuilding vital infrastructure to be even stronger than before.
Texas will be challenged to marshal every resource available to ensure Harvey-ravaged communities can rebuild quickly, efficiently and with an eye to the future. Design-build can help the state achieve that goal, if Gov. Greg Abbott follows the lead of many other governors before him and uses his executive authority granting the full use of design-build in Texas.