In early September, the City of Seattle released a “Request for Qualifications and Proposed Approach” for General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) services for the Elliott Bay Seawall project. Qualified firms are encouraged to submit proposals by October 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. (PST), and SDOT aims to have the GC/CM on board by the end of November.
A GC/CM will bring expertise to the team that translates directly to future project construction: design decision making, cost estimating, ease of construction methods, budget and schedule control, materials ordering and planning (also called “procurement”), subcontracting guidance for specialized contracting, outreach, and sequencing of the project components. That firm will also be responsible for the construction, subcontracting, coordination, and management of the construction process, and will be a member of a team that includes the City’s project staff, design team, and other project consultants.
We are aiming to have the construction of the new seawall completed by early 2016 to coincide with the demolition of the Alaskan Way viaduct. Earlier this year, SDOT explored several different contracting structures options for the Seawall project to best deliver the project on time and budget. These included Design/Build, Design/Bid/Build, and GC/CM. SDOT decided to move forward with a GC/CM structure to provide the opportunity for the selected contractor to work collaboratively with the SDOT and the current Seawall engineering team on the final design details earlier than other typical general contracting structures. Ultimately, this will help SDOT complete design with confidence in how the project will be built in a timely and efficient way, having worked with project stakeholders through the design process.
The Elliott Bay Seawall Project is currently in the midst of “final design”. A Draft Environmental Impact Statement compliant with the Washington State Environmental Policy Act is anticipated in November 2012.
To learn more about the project, visit the Elliott Bay Seawall website at: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/seawall.htm. To learn more about this recent RFQ/PA, please visit SDOT’s contracting page at: https://www.ebidexchange.com/seattle/.