Lessons Learned Through Bidding, Award and the First Year of Construction of a 54-inch Sewer in Environmentally Sensitive Area

On the Santa Ana River Interceptor (SARI) Replacement Project Mainline Contract, the bids received were significantly lower than the engineer's estimated construction cost. Information will be provided to help you estimate similar projects based on current economic conditions. In addition, a bid irregularity was identified which required special approval from the elected officials which otherwise would have cost the agency over $3M. Obtaining elected official approval was a significant process to complete analysis, make recommendation, review potential legal liabilities, and make public meeting presentations to obtain their approval. Attendees will learn from our experience of specific “do's and don'ts” when going through the process of obtaining elected official approval to waive a bid irregularity.Upon implementation of construction, the contractor submitted a value engineering suggestion to save the project over $1M. The recommended design change was to eliminate one of the deep tunnel shafts and allow the microtunnel to be installed on a horizontal curve. Although horizontal curve alignments are common overseas, only one planned horizontal curve microtunnel project has been successfully completed in the United States. The presentation will cover some of the more significant details of the cost saving request, including items added to help reduce the owner's risk of implementing a curved tunnel installation (longer drive length) and joint deflection.