Anderson Columbia Company

Partnering for successA joint venture to widen Interstate 75 in southwest Florida posed a host of design and permitting challenges to Anderson Columbia Company, but itÔÇÖs on track to be completed ahead of schedule, thanks to a strong partnership approach, Keith Regan reports. Transportations officials in Florida have long recognized the need to increase the capacity of Interstate 75 to carry traffic through Collier and Lee counties in the fast-growing southwestern part of the state.  In fact, from the time I-75 was completed in 1992, plans were afoot to expand the stretch of highway from four lanes to six. Funding hurdles and other delays pushed back the project considerably starting in the 1990s, but with work now on or ahead of an aggressive schedule on the Interstate Roadway Expansion, or iROX, project, it may prove worth the wait. The $430 million widening project, which covers 30 miles of highway as well as some 24 bridgesÔÇöincluding four that are being entirely rebuiltÔÇöis being completed by a joint venture between Anderson Columbia Company and Ajax Paving, with HDR Engineering providing design and engineering services. The project is on track to capitalize on a significant financial incentive for early completion: a bonus of $100,000 for each day the project is completed ahead of schedule, with a potential $15 million on the table for finishing early, according to Joint Venture project director Rick Dun. In late July 2008, the project was about a quarter of the way through its 1,150-day window, with about 48 percent of the work completed, on a revenue basis. Plenty of work remains, however, including more complex and logistically challenging bridge construction, but Dun credits a strong partnership approach from the outset with giving the project the strong start it has enjoyed to date. Up-front communication and coordination was essential, because iROX was put out for bid on a design-build-finance (DBF) basis. Rarely used in the US but common elsewhere, DBF will enable the project to be completed in about three years while payments will be made over five years. The joint venture between Anderson Columbia and Ajax was formed to reflect the special financing component of the projects, and each also came to the table with unique assets, says Dun. Anderson Columbia brought extensive experience with interstate highway widening projects, while Ajax brought assets of its own, including local asphalt plants.Major challenges on the project included getting the design completed and accurately estimating costs during a fast-moving bid process. ÔÇ£In a short time window, we had to provide significant information to show we understood the demands of the project and could take into account all the design standards and permitting requirements in place,ÔÇØ Dun says. The work plan had to then be weighed against the five-year funding matrix provided by the state that showed how money would be distributed to the joint venture. ÔÇ£We had to look at what our cost was going to be and how it was going to be distributed over the work schedule. At that time, we were working off conceptual designs.ÔÇØ Once the contract was awarded, final design work got under way and the venture tackled the project in pieces, working on areas where it could more readily realign the highway by widening shoulders on the outside of the roadways to make room for workers to add the new lanes on the inside. The projectÔÇÖs strong start is a reflection of the partnership approach that began even before the contract was signed, says Dun. ÔÇ£That approach to partnering has been essential to where we are today. Without the team spirit that is built throughout the entire project, we could have had a lot of problems getting things done.ÔÇØ For example, when design plans were submitted to the Department of Transportation authorities that reviewed them for compliance with the contract and DOT standards, feedback was given in real time starting right away. ÔÇ£If they had waited until day 29 out of the 30 days they have to review and then sent back documents with 6,000 questionsÔÇöand thatÔÇÖs more common than people like to admitÔÇöthat could have slowed us down significantly. Instead, we had a process where we could see day-to-day the review comments, and we could start to turn documents around much sooner. That in turn made the second level of review much quicker as well.ÔÇØThe partnering approach started in the early days of the joint ventureÔÇÖs formation, when executives from the two companies met to discuss the project. From there, it went well beyond the core companies to include the regulatory authorities, subcontractors, regulators, local communities and counties responsible for the interchanges being revamped and the Florida Highway Patrol. One memorable meeting with subcontractors drew a crowd of 150 people, Dun recalls. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖve found over my years that if somebody comes and stands up in front of a group and just gives lip service to an idea, thatÔÇÖs usually pretty apparent. But by the same token, if somebody stands up and talks about something he has passion for, thatÔÇÖs pretty apparent as well.ÔÇØ A key message from the meeting was that even though all parties involved did not have the same specific objectives, the larger goal remained a common one. ÔÇ£All the stakeholders have their own objectives, but those donÔÇÖt have to be mutually exclusive.ÔÇØThe meeting helped set expectations for all those working on the project and also opened the lines of communication, which have been maintained through the use of a detailed cost-revenue-loaded schedule. Based on a series of meetings with the Florida DOT, the schedule lays out exactly when payments will be made to the joint venture and how funds will flow to subcontractors. ÔÇ£It takes a bit more time to put the schedule together, but it probably saves us days in terms of confusion or questions when it comes to reviewing invoices. The schedule is a tool that is truly used by everyone on the project and another item that brings us all together on the same page.ÔÇØSo far, Dun says, the biggest surprise about the actual construction of the project has been the lack of serious surprises in the field. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve had some glitches. You donÔÇÖt undertake a project of this size and not face some challenges. But nine times out of ten, weÔÇÖve been able to anticipate the challenge or have been prepared for it. On those occasions where something came up unexpectedly, we were able to rally the forces quickly, come up with alternatives and pick a course of action. The work we did up front pays off every day.ÔÇØ┬á