Fewer orange cones? New Missouri law may speed up projects

A new Missouri law that’s expected to save cities, school districts and other political subdivisions money on their construction projects took effect Aug. 28.

Gov. Jay Nixon on July 1 signed into law House Bill 2376, which allows local governments the option to enter into design-build contracts with general contractors for capital projects.

Design-build is a method of selecting a single contractor to carry out the design and construction of a project.

Advocates of design-build say the simplified process allows public bodies to save on costs and time for procurement on construction projects.

In a traditional bidding situation, procurement required a two-step process. The first involves picking a firm for design services, such as architects and engineers. That selection was based on qualifications. The second step, choosing a contractor, generally involves going with the lowest bidder.

“You have really qualified plans and specifications,” Bill Quatman, general counsel for Kansas City engineering firm Burns & McDonnell, said of traditional bidding. “All things being equal, you get the lowest price contractor to build it for you.”

Under design-build, a company can offer both construction and design services under a single proposal.

Quatman, who is also national board chairman for the Design-Build Institute of America, helped write H.B. 2376.

Design-build, he argues, leads to shorter construction schedules and lower costs.

Data support this view. A joint study by the Construction Industry Institute and Penn State University found project delivery speed was 33 percent faster using design-build, based on a sampling of 351 construction projects.

“I think they will see faster projects, fewer orange cones on the roadways for a shorter duration of time, fewer claims, lower costs for the taxpayers,” Quatman said, “and, at the end of the day, better projects.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Fewer orange cones? New Missouri law may speed up projects."