The Oregon Department of Transportation announced a Notice of Intent to Award the Construction Management / General Contractor contract to Hamilton Sundt A Joint Venture, in association with Raimore, for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project.The Notice of Intent to Award to Hamilton Sundt a Joint Venture is a step to add another important partner to help design and build a project that is founded on community input and values.
This marks a significant moment for ODOT and an action towards doing business differently. For the first time in the Portland metro region, ODOT is bringing the construction manager on board early in the design phase and developing contractor specifications directly from community input.
ODOT is changing the way it does business by setting goals to achieve values-based outcomes on how the project will contract with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises and engage with the community. In its Request for Proposals, ODOT also included a provision that the proposers meet a goal range of 18-22% use of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. Workforce goals include a 20% goal for apprenticeships, 25% minority male and 14% female workers.
The project’s values include a focus on restorative justice for communities harmed by previous government actions and using community input to shape the Project and the outcomes for the community. Having the Construction Management / General Contractor on board early in the design process is a key step toward those commitments.
The Construction Management / General Contractor method was chosen to:
• Improve Community Partnership: The contractor is able to work with the community to develop the Project’s design together.
• Increase Economic Opportunities: The contractor is the key to unlocking the project’s economic opportunities through contracts to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, building business capacity and jobs for minority workers.
• Optimize innovation: The Construction Management / General Contractor procurement method encourages the contractor to provide input and innovation in the design process, including identifying cost and schedule risks that can be addressed and reduced during design as a result of the contractor’s experience.
The project's Community Opportunity Advisory Committee will help keep ODOT and the contractor accountable to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goals, mentor/protégé programs, workforce and apprenticeship programs and other ways in which to build the workforce pipeline that will not only bring short-term jobs, but also generate wealth in the local community.
About the project:
The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project adds auxiliary lanes and shoulders to reduce congestion and improve safety on I-5, the main north-south freeway on the west coast. It also redesigns the multimodal local street network.
The project will smooth traffic flow on I-5 between I-84 and I-405 where three interstates intersect and feature the biggest traffic bottleneck in Oregon. The project will improve community connections by redesigning overpasses and reconnecting neighborhood streets, enhancing public spaces, and promoting economic development opportunities.
Source: ODOT