SAVANNAH, GA — The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) awards its first Construction Management/General Contractor (CM/GC) contract to Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. for the US 17/SR 404 Spur Bridge Major Maintenance Project (PI No. 0019219) that will replace the existing bridge’s cables, bearings, and joints. In addition to the structural enhancements to this cable stayed bridge spanning the Savannah River, the contractor will explore shortening the cables to raise the profile for additional vertical/navigational clearance for ships accessing the Port of Savannah’s terminals directly upstream.

Leading up to the award, the department used a best-value procurement method, which evaluates both price and technical proposals for this new, innovative CM/GC delivery method. This is Georgia DOT’s first use of the CM/GC approach.

“Our first CM/GC procurement was successful, with three finalist teams and a competitive process leading to an extremely strong team selected for this first-of-its-kind project,” said Andrew Hoenig PE, DBIA, Georgia DOT’s P3 Construction Program Manager. “We are very pleased with the outcome and our industry partners who continue to provide exceptional value to the department to move this critical project forward for the traveling public.”

The CM/GC team, Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., will work with Georgia DOT and the Designer of Record (DOR), Parsons Transportation Group, which was awarded the DOR contract in August 2023. With the CM/GC delivery approach, the department hires a contractor early in a project's design phase as a construction manager to work collaboratively with the project team and the DOR to advise, assist, and provide recommendations throughout the pre-construction phase, and give crucial input on schedule, phasing, constructability, risk, and cost.

Once the project enters the construction phase, the responsibilities of the CM/GC team shift to general contractor, which entails constructing the project, providing resources to execute the work efficiently, and collaborating to resolve issues and manage stakeholder coordination.

Preconstruction services will begin in first quarter (Q1) 2024, and collaboration between the DOR and CM/GC will occur throughout the year as Georgia DOT prepares for construction to start in Q1 2025.