Compendium of State Departments of Transportation Procedures for Alternative Project Delivery (including, but not limited to Design-Build, CMAR, and Public Private Partnership (P3) projects) Noise Abatement and Recommended Best Practices from the Project Owner Perspective
Focus Area
Noise
Subcommittee
Environmental Process
Status
Current
Cost
$250k-$499k
Timeframe
1-2 years
Research Idea Scope
This research effort will provide a compendium of DOTs Alternative Project Delivery processes as they relate to noise abatement. Several approaches will be undertaken to compile the compendium:
• A questionnaire will be developed for each entity partner. There will be a separate questionnaire for DOTs, design engineering firms, and construction contractors. The purpose of the questionnaire will be to identify how the collaboration process worked, if it met each partner’s expectation, and best practices and lessons learned that each State DOT has identified for future projects.
• The list of contacts will be developed by networking with DOTs and coordinating with design engineering firms as well as construction contractors.
• Interviews will be held with DOTs, decision makers, design engineering firms, contractors, and noise specialists to determine what has worked well and what has been problematic in these policies.
• Existing formal policies will be collected and included in search results as examples.
• Research on RFPs and/or bid documents for Alternative Delivery projects to identify what noise abatement was included compared to what noise abatement was ultimately built.
• An example of the outcome of the research would be the difference between the size/dimensions of the noise abatement agreed to in the NEPA effort relative to the Alternative Delivery effort.
• Understanding that a one-size-fits-all approach may not work best for all noise issues, findings will be separated by complexity of project.
Resulting efforts would be used to develop best practices for complying with state and federal regulations, developing contract documents (including specifications and RFP language), implementing noise abatement, review of when evaluations and reevaluations are conducted and triggered. The goal: assisting State DOTs avoid future pitfalls, saving time and cost, lower risk allocation, and minimize claims as it relates to noise abatement on Alternative Delivery projects. Research will provide a record of how previous Alternative Delivery noise abatement commitments have been handled through the country to date.
Urgency and Payoff
There is variability in how DOTs implement noise abatement commitments in Alternative Delivery projects. This can be a source of confusion for design engineers and construction contractors. Additionally, some DOTs have not had any experience delivering noise abatement on projects using the Alternative Delivery process. In a 2016 Traffic Noise Practitioners Summit white paper, 60% of State DOT noise specialists wanted FHWA guidance on such projects. Up to this point, no federal guidance has been delivered, so the need still exists. This compendium and best practices would benefit all DOTs. Resulting efforts would be used to develop best practices for complying with state and federal regulations, developing contract documents (including example specifications and RFP language), implementing noise abatement, review of when evaluations and reevaluations are conducted and triggered. The goal: assisting State DOTs avoid future pitfalls, saving time and cost, lower risk allocation, and minimize claims as it relates to noise abatement on Alternative Delivery projects. Research will provide a record of how previous Alternative Delivery noise abatement commitments have been handled through the country to date. An Appendix with examples of various specification and RFP language will be included.
Furthermore, the research will provide a record of how Alternative Delivery noise abatement commitments have been handled throughout the country to date. This document could be revisited as more DOTs deliver noise abatement projects using Alternative Delivery processes and the best practices updated on a yet to be determined basis which could reduce project costs and potential of issues such as schedule slippage.
Submitted
08/17/2022