Pub. 2 2019-2020 Issue 3

The LADOTD published the “Apparent Bid Results” for this project in January 2015. The agency had estimated construction cost of approximately $40,757,000 with 700 days as the maximum construction time and a calculated user delay cost of $15,000 per day. The time cost for each of the five bids is presented in Table 1. Note that the second lowest overall bidder had the lowest construction cost but about 1.9 times the construction time – this made the difference between the two bidders. All the concrete bids had construction times between 640 and 700 days, resulting in about $10,000,000 in user delay costs, almost double that of the asphalt alternative. The proposed time to construct for the asphalt bid was almost half (56%) that of the shortest concrete project (360 days versus 675 days), equating to a time cost savings of $4.2 million. Barriere Construction Co. LLC performs both asphalt and concrete pavement construction in Louisiana. Their choice of bidding the asphalt alternative was based on the flexibility and speed of construction that asphalt offers. Furthermore, asphalt allowed the construction in the critical “fast” zones to take place quickly, allowing the remaining construction to take place behind hard barriers, making the work zone safer for motorists and workers. When asked why the asphalt alternative was bid at a lower work time than the concrete alternatives, Barriere representatives speculated that constructability issues associated with the size of concrete paving operations requiring more space and the timing of construction activities to account for such factors as curing may have played a critical role. By quantifying the impacts of time costs on the local community, state agencies can gain a more holistic view of the total economic impact of a construction project. This analysis helps the agency make an informed decision surrounding the economic and construction costs associated with large pavement projects. Poole, T.S. (2005). Guide for Curing of Portland Cement Concrete Pavements. Report FHWA-RD-02-099 . Federal Highway Administration, McLean, Virginia. Lambert, J.R., and R. Savoie (March 20, 2012) S.P. NO. H.003107, F.A.P. NO. H003107, French Branch Bridge – West Pearl River Bridge, St. Tammany Parish, Routes I-10, I-12, & I-59. Letter to Mr. Hector Santiago, P.E. Federal Highway Administration, Baton Rouge, LA. 888.468.6499 I AsphaltPavement.org Recommendations: 1. Owners should quantify the time costs of construction operations during the pavement type selection process or lowest responsive bidder analysis. 2. Owners should consider pavement type selection for work zone safety impacts in critical “fast” zones. The proposed time to construct for the asphalt bid was almost half (56%) that of the shortest concrete project (360 days versus 675 days), equating to a time cost savings of $4.2 million. “ Table 1. Comparison of Bids for Louisiana Interchange. Rank 1 (asphalt) 2 (concrete) 3 (concrete) 4 (concrete) 5 (concrete) Construction Bid, $ 39,888,687 37,473,810 47,524,942 53,532,280 59,918,761 Proposed Time, days 360 675 699 640 700 Time Cost, $ 5,400,000 10,125,000 10,485,000 9,600,000 10,500,000 Total Bid, $ 45,288,687 47,598,810 58,009,942 63,132,280 70,418,761 27