1. How does MDOT see the Design Review process working on the project? We are very familiar with how it works on design/bid/build projects and wanted to know what would be modified.
2. What is the anticipated MDOT Review Schedule and turn-a-round times to be expected?
3. What role is MDOT planning to play with regards to providing direction/concept desired on the project? In a Design/Bid scenario, MDOT Project Manager and others have provided input during the design process. Is this input/concept going to be included in the RFP?
4. What level of plan development is MDOT requiring on this project? Equal to the Design/Bid/Build product?
5. Has a hydraulic analysis been performed on the culverts in the project? I know you mentioned that televising the culverts has been completed and some direction regarding replacements would be included in the RFP.
6. Why is a roadway rehab and rural freeways prequalification required? This is a non-freeway road over bridge project. It would seem that a road design prequal should be adequate?
7. If only one bid is turned in for I-69, will it be awarded?
8. How much can bids be over engineer's estimate and still be awarded without going before the board (standard 10%)?
9. Assume that portions of the project and MOT can be planned as "log" type vs. full plans? Do we only need to prepare plans for critical locations?
10. Will the receivable from this job be guaranteed by MDOT?
11. If the contractor in three years is out of business, will MDOT pay the lender of this receivable?
12. Is there a hold back? If so, from what date? Job acceptance or at balance payment?
13. Will Power Point slides be available?
14. Will there be a quality based shortlisting for I-69?
15. If a firm is part of Contractor's design team, can they also perform construction engineering for MDOT?
16. Is there a guarantee of acceptance for lenders? Is there a mechanism in place to make sure payment in 2012? What if contractor is out of business, will the bank get paid?
17. How far along is Request For Qualification (RFQ) development for M-21? Will qualifications be required?
18. Were the jobs budgeted in 2012?
19. With one step process, what are requirements?
20. Can contractors and design firms be on several teams?
21. Will MDOT provide 30% plans?
22. I-69 will be evaluated on low bid so each team's designer will provide quantities for their team's bid? Wouldn't this be like comparing apples to oranges?
23. Since I-69 is a one step process, is there a stipend?
24. How will construction engineering be handled?
25. Will there be unit prices?
26. Will there be a warranty required?
27. Any sub-grade issues on I-69?
28. Is schedule part of selection process?
29. With I-69 as low bid, how evaluate culverts, cross drains, etc?
30. Who will the construction engineering firm work for?
31. What is driving the urgency on M-21?
32. What month in 2012 will balloon payment be made?
33. Any worry about funding in 2012?
34. Will MDOT take soil borings for the M-21 bridge project? How about for the I-69 project?
35. At the March 10, 2008 meeting, it was stated that the I-69 project estimate was $44,000,000. How much was for total construction? How much was for the deep overlays on the 5 bridges. How much was for design. Is preliminary engineering and the construction engineering included in the $44,000,000?
36. Q&A from April 10th meeting indicates there will be a 5-year warranty on the bridge paint, but the current agreed to bridge paint warranty is 2 years. What does MDOT expect?
37. MDOT currently provides guidance for contract language between prime and subconsultant firms. Will MDOT provide guidance for the contracts that will need to be in place between Contractors and Engineers? This guidance relates to payment terms, provisions for entering and terminating the services, limits of liability, insurance requirements, standards of care, etc.
38. Would MDOT consider developing an estimate of quantities for the pay items that account for the majority (80 to 90%) of the project cost in order for the bidding process to be more consistent? Most Contactors and Consultants agree that the I-69 project improvements do not lend themselves to innovation. Most likely, the innovation will result from the collaboration between the Consultant and Contractor to produce the necessary deliverables for efficiently constructing the project. Consultants are most concerned about the risk associated with this delivery method. With traditional design-bid-build projects, the owner absorbs some level of risk associated with extras and overruns. With design-build the bid price is the bid price with the exception of the items that will be identified as shared risk. The only direction the Contractor will be able to go is to the Consultant, even if the Consultant provided the service in accordance with the Standard of Care. It is inevitable that there will be unknowns that will arise after the bid has been prepared and after the team has been selected. In the traditional design-bid-build process, Consultants and MDOT account for these unknowns by adding "fluff" in quantities and adding token quantities for unknown items. With the design-build method it is likely that this "protection" will not be tolerated by the Contractor as it will inflate the bid prices and every Consultant will not be consistent with the amount of "protection" that they provide. With the low bid selection on I-69, it is highly likely that the team who made an error in quantity calculations by missing necessary items, will win the project. In order to account for this in the past, 30% plans were developed with a list of pay items and quantities to minimize the number of unknowns.
39. Where would it be possible to review the "As Constructed" plans from the original job(s) related to this new project on I-69?
40. At the industry meeting, MDOT stated that some items, such as subgrade undercutting, may be set up as a separate quantity or line item as a shared risk item. Would the bridge deck overlay concrete be one of these items? In our experience this item may overrun in quantity a considerable amount depending on the condition of the bridge deck.
41. Will MDOT's hydraulic analysis of the drainage be sufficient to determine the size requirements of the culverts crossing the R/W?
42. Will the I-69 project require a submittal of a Statement of Qualifications in May 2008?
43. For I-69, will there be any evaluation of qualifications of the DBF team other than verifying that all firms / contractors are prequalified to perform the required services? Will there be any other selection criteria other than being the low bid?
44. Regarding the pavement design for the I-69 DBF project; will there be the ability to value engineering or offer an alternative technical concept for the pavement in the RFP? If so, what would be the prequalification requirements for a firm providing this type of engineering service as part of a DBF team?
45. Can the same consultant firm be proposed as a Major Participant on DBF teams on both projects (M-21 and I-69)?
46. Will there be project specific liability insurance requirements for these projects? These premiums are a minimum of $50,000 and for a project like I-69 the average would be in the range of $250,000. These policies have to be in place before construction begins and are typically paid for by the owner (MDOT). Is MDOT going to pay for these insurance premiums?

1. How does MDOT see the Design Review process working on the project? We are very familiar with how it works on design/bid/build projects and wanted to know what would be modified.

Answer: We are developing the written review procedures but anticipate handling this as we have in other design/build contracts. We will work out a schedule with the DBF team's designer for submission allowing time for MDOT review and acceptance before that portion of the work can be started. We anticipate this being done as it is being designed and not one submittal of the entire design package.

2. What is the anticipated MDOT Review Schedule and turn-a-round times to be expected?

Answer: This will be detailed in the RFP and will include addressing timing is the plans are not found to be acceptable.

3. What role is MDOT planning to play with regards to providing direction/concept desired on the project? In a Design/Bid scenario, MDOT Project Manager and others have provided input during the design process. Is this input/concept going to be included in the RFP?

Answer: Yes, the input/concept will be included in the RFP but not at 30% complete plans but the goal will be to address design items where MDOT has a specific preference within the standards.

4. What level of plan development is MDOT requiring on this project? Equal to the Design/Bid/Build product?

Answer: The final plans must be complete and sealed equal to a design/bid/build project.

5. Has a hydraulic analysis been performed on the culverts in the project? I know you mentioned that televising the culverts has been completed and some direction regarding replacements would be included in the RFP.

Answer: Information on the hydraulic analysis will be provided in the RFP. The DBF team will be responsible to assure its accuracy when using it in design.

6. Why is a roadway rehab and rural freeways prequalification required? This is a non-freeway road over bridge project. It would seem that a road design prequal should be adequate?

Answer: All prequalification requirements will be reviewed again prior to posting the RFQ.

7. If only one bid is turned in for I-69, will it be awarded?

Answer: The bid would be accepted if it was responsive and within the budget available for the project.

8. How much can bids be over engineer's estimate and still be awarded without going before the board (standard 10%)?

Answer: These bids require the same Transportation Commission and State Ad Board approvals as Design/Bid/Build projects and must get approval if 10% over the engineer's estimate.

9. Assume that portions of the project and MOT can be planned as "log" type vs. full plans? Do we only need to prepare plans for critical locations?

Answer: More information will be included in the RFP that will specify the type of plans required.

10. Will the receivable from this job be guaranteed by MDOT?

Answer: No, MDOT will have a signed contract with the contractor. MDOT will make payments in accordance with the terms of this contract (assuming completion and acceptance of the work).

11. If the contractor in three years is out of business, will MDOT pay the lender of this receivable?

Answer: Updated 5/14/2008. See answers in Frequently Asked Questions - Financial.

12. Is there a hold back? If so, from what date? Job acceptance or at balance payment?

Answer: No, there is no hold back (retainage) on these projects.

13. Will Power Point slides be available?

Answer: Yes, for information purposes only as information is subject to change.

14. Will there be a quality based shortlisting for I-69?

Answer: No

15. If a firm is part of Contractor's design team, can they also perform construction engineering for MDOT?

Answer: No, this is considered a conflict of interest.

16. Is there a guarantee of acceptance for lenders? Is there a mechanism in place to make sure payment in 2012? What if contractor is out of business, will the bank get paid?

Answer: Updated 5/14/2008. See answers in Frequently Asked Questions - Financial

17. How far along is Request For Qualification (RFQ) development for M-21? Will qualifications be required?

Answer: This is currently being drafted and, yes, qualifications will be required.

18. Were the jobs budgeted in 2012?

Answer: I-69 was budgeted for 2012 and M-21 was budgeted for 2011.

19. With one step process, what are requirements?

Answer: Details will be provided in the Request for Proposal (RFP). There will be some pass/fail items similar to other construction contracts (meeting prequalification, assuring not conflict of interest, etc).

20. Can contractors and design firms be on several teams?

Answer: The primary design firm and key subconsultants can only be proposed/partnered with one contractor. Key subconsultants will be defined in the RFQ/RFP.

21. Will MDOT provide 30% plans?

Answer: No.

22. I-69 will be evaluated on low bid so each team's designer will provide quantities for their team's bid? Wouldn't this be like comparing apples to oranges?

Answer: MDOT will provide cross-section, base alignment and vertical clearance and be prescriptive on some items but the DBF team's designer must determine what items to bid.

23. Since I-69 is a one step process, is there a stipend?

Answer: No.

24. How will construction engineering be handled?

Answer: For both projects, construction engineering will be similar to a design/bid/build project.

25. Will there be unit prices?

Answer: Costs will be priced in lump sum bid though there may be some unit priced items where a shared risk is seen. More details will be provided in the RFP.

26. Will there be a warranty required?

Answer: MDOT - Yes, I-69 will have 5 year material and workmanship. M-21 will have the standard bridge paint system warranty. MDOT is considering other warranty possibilities on the M-21 project. Updated answer: 4/24/2008

27. Any sub-grade issues on I-69?

Answer: Sub-grade undercutting is considered a shared risk item and set up with quantity.

28. Is schedule part of selection process?

Answer: I-69 will have lane rentals and will be a final bid component. How the DBF team proposes a schedule may be part of the M-21 selection.

29. With I-69 as low bid, how evaluate culverts, cross drains, etc?

Answer: Culverts are being video taped to direct this to take out the uncertainty.

30. Who will the construction engineering firm work for?

Answer: MDOT.

31. What is driving the urgency on M-21?

Answer: To develop delivery tools for the future.

32. What month in 2012 will balloon payment be made?

Answer: The details of the final payment will be provided in the RFP documents for each project. Updated Answer: 4/24/2008

33. Any worry about funding in 2012?

Answer: No.

34. Will MDOT take soil borings for the M-21 bridge project? How about for the I-69 project?

Answer: MDOT will have geotechnical information available for the M-21 and I-69 Design/Build/Finance projects. While the information provided can be considered accurate for the location taken, it does not mean that additional borings are not warranted for the final project design, nor can MDOT guarantee the soil condition between separate borings. More details will be provided on the available geotechnical information in the project's RFP.

35. At the March 10, 2008 meeting, it was stated that the I-69 project estimate was $44,000,000. How much was for the total construction? How much was the deep overlays on the five bridges. How much was for design. Is preliminary engineering and the construction engineering included in the $44,000,000?

Answer: The dollars presented at the meeting were based on preliminary scoping information. The budgeted costs were intended to represent the estimated bid costs from the Design/Build/Finance teams based on the scope of the project and the best information available at the time of the meeting. As noted at the meeting, MDOT is continuing to receive additional project information, as well as developing the final scope that will be presented in the RFP documents. As the final scope is developed and additional information is received, our anticipated budgets are also changing. The costs presented at the meeting were presented for information only, and MDOT's final budget for the project will vary from the costs presented at the 3/10/08 meeting. At this point in time MDOT does not intend on providing a breakdown of each project's budget.

36. Q&A from April 10th meeting indicates there will be a 5-year warranty on the bridge paint, but the current agreed to bridge paint warranty is 2 years. What does MDOT expect?

Answer: MDOT will seek the standard warranty for the bridge painting system, and the previous question will be updated also.

37. MDOT currently provides guidance for contract language between prime and subconsultant firms. Will MDOT provide guidance for the contracts that will need to be in place between Contractors and Engineers? This guidance relates to payment terms, provisions for entering and terminating the services, limits of liability, insurance requirements, standards of care, etc.

Answer: Subcontracting requirements will be in accordance with MDOT construction contracting/subcontracting procedures. The subcontracts, including those for professional services, will not be processed through the service contract procedures.

38. Would MDOT consider developing an estimate of quantities for the pay items that account for the majority (80 to 90%) of the project cost in order for the bidding process to be more consistent? Most Contactors and Consultants agree that the I-69 project improvements do not lend themselves to innovation. Most likely, the innovation will result from the collaboration between the Consultant and Contractor to produce the necessary deliverables for efficiently constructing the project. Consultants are most concerned about the risk associated with this delivery method. With traditional design-bid-build projects, the owner absorbs some level of risk associated with extras and overruns. With design-build the bid price is the bid price with the exception of the items that will be identified as shared risk. The only direction the Contractor will be able to go is to the Consultant, even if the Consultant provided the service in accordance with the Standard of Care. It is inevitable that there will be unknowns that will arise after the bid has been prepared and after the team has been selected. In the traditional design-bid-build process, Consultants and MDOT account for these unknowns by adding "fluff" in quantities and adding token quantities for unknown items. With the design-build method it is likely that this "protection" will not be tolerated by the Contractor as it will inflate the bid prices and every Consultant will not be consistent with the amount of "protection" that they provide. With the low bid selection on I-69, it is highly likely that the team who made an error in quantity calculations by missing necessary items, will win the project. In order to account for this in the past, 30% plans were developed with a list of pay items and quantities to minimize the number of unknowns.

Answer: Except for a few shared risk items, MDOT does not intend on providing quantities for either project. The Design/Build/Finance team is responsible for developing a bid based on their design while conforming to the criteria in the RFP. The M-21/I75 RFP does include a stipend to be paid to the unsuccessful Proposers. The stipend should be considered applicable to the expense of identifying items and/or quantities.

39. Where would it be possible to review the "As Constructed" plans from the original job(s) related to this new project on I-69?

Answer: As Built plans are available upon request for both projects. Please email your request to Chris Youngs atyoungsch@michigan.gov with the address where you want the disk sent.

40. At the industry meeting, MDOT stated that some items, such as subgrade undercutting, may be set up as a separate quantity or line item as a shared risk item. Would the bridge deck overlay concrete be one of these items? In our experience this item may overrun in quantity a considerable amount depending on the condition of the bridge deck.

Answer: MDOT will consider this request. At this point in time the intent is to these items be the responsibility of the Design/Build/Finance team

41. Will MDOT's hydraulic analysis of the drainage be sufficient to determine the size requirements of the culverts crossing the R/W?

Answer: At this point in time, MDOT believes the hydraulic information that will be available to the Design/Build/Finance teams will be insufficient to determine the size requirements, and this would be the responsibility of the Design/Build/Finance.

42. Will the I-69 project require a submittal of a Statement of Qualifications in May 2008?

Answer: No.

43. For I-69, will there be any evaluation of qualifications of the DBF team other than verifying that all firms / contractors are prequalified to perform the required services? Will there be any other selection criteria other than being the low bid?

Answer: The I-69 will have prequalification review and review of certain minimum qualifications detailed in the RFP. These items will be pass/fail and not part of the bid scoring. There may also be lane rental and alternative pavement factors added.

44. Regarding the pavement design for the I-69 DBF project; will there be the ability to value engineering or offer an alternative technical concept for the pavement in the RFP? If so, what would be the prequalification requirements for a firm providing this type of engineering service as part of a DBF team?

Answer: We are not planning to include the Value Engineering Change Proposal special provision in either DBF contract. For I-69, we will also not accept an alternative technical concept for the pavement sections that will be provided in the RFP.

45. Can the same consultant firm be proposed as a Major Participant on DBF teams on both projects (M-21 and I-69)?

Answer: Yes. However, if their DBF Team is the successful Proposer on both projects and they have proposed the same people for both projects, the DBF team will only be eligible for one project and MDOT will determine which one.

46. Will there be project specific liability insurance requirements for these projects? These premiums are a minimum of $50,000 and for a project like I-69 the average would be in the range of $250,000. These policies have to be in place before construction begins and are typically paid for by the owner (MDOT). Is MDOT going to pay for these insurance premiums?

Answer: At this time, MDOT does not plan to require the DBF contractor to provide project specific professional liability insurance. The DBF Contractor must provide the same insurance coverage required on all construction contracts. In addition, the DBF contractor shall make sure that whoever is providing the engineering services is covered by professional liability insurance that is typically required for MDOT prequalification of that service. Updated answer: 5/14/2008