Home » Ky. issues request for proposals to build downtown crossing of Ohio River Bridges Project

Ky. issues request for proposals to build downtown crossing of Ohio River Bridges Project

Three finalist teams will compete to deliver best value 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 1, 2012) – The race to determine who will build a new downtown bridge and interstate connections in Louisville begins today with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Downtown Crossing of the Ohio River Bridges Project.

“We’re off and running,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “We have moved from promises and planning to selecting a team of professionals who will help us deliver for the people of Kentucky and Indiana.”

Three experienced teams of bridge- and highway-building professionals will spend the next six months and invest millions of dollars developing detailed plans for the complex project that includes building a new Interstate 65 bridge over the Ohio River, revamping the existing Kennedy Bridge, untangling the downtown Louisville interchange and rebuilding interstate connections in Jeffersonville and Clarksville, Ind.

The Bridges Project, a cooperative effort by Kentucky and Indiana, will create more than 4,000 construction-related jobs over the next six years as one of the nation’s largest transportation improvement projects. Kentucky is overseeing the construction and financing of the Downtown Crossing while Indiana is overseeing construction of the East End Crossing between Prospect, Ky., and Utica, Ind.

The Downtown Crossing RFP covers nearly 500 pages of detailed project information, requirements and instructions to solicit proposals that focus on innovative designs, cost-saving approaches, thoughtful traffic maintenance and an inclusive workforce.

The document sets aggressive goals for the inclusion of minorities and women in the construction workforce. The minority workforce goal is 15 percent and the female workforce goal is 10 percent.

“We have set the bar high and made the standard clear,” Gov. Beshear said. “The workforce that builds this project must be a reflection of the region.”

The RFP encourages teams to find ways to speed construction of the project, which is estimated to take six years to build, by including financial incentives for early completion. The winning team may receive a bonus of $40,000 a day – up to $12 million (or about 1 percent of the estimated project cost) – for completing construction ahead of the agreed-to deadline. However, if the deadline is not met, the contractor may be penalized $80,000 for each day that the project is late.

The RFP is posted on the KYTC website at http://transportation.ky.gov/Ohio-River-Bridges/Pages/default.aspx.

The three teams will present their technical proposals by Oct. 1 and their cost proposals by Nov. 15. KYTC plans to award a contract for the Downtown Crossing by year’s end, with construction beginning in earnest in early 2013 and completion by June 2018. The six-year construction timeline is less than half the time previously projected for the project.

A group of KYTC evaluators reviewed the qualifications of five professional teams and narrowed the field to three finalists on April 23.

 Three finalists and their team members

 Ohio River Transportation Constructors

• Kiewit Infrastructure Co.

• Traylor Brothers Inc.

• Kokosing Construction Co. Inc.

• Massman Construction Co.

• HNTB Corp.

• Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc.

 Skanska Flatiron Dragados

• Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc.

• Flatiron Constructors Inc.

• Dragados USA Inc.

• URS Corp.

• T.Y. Lin International

Walsh Construction

• Walsh Construction Co.

• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

• Milestone Contractors, L.P.

• Buckland & Taylor Ltd.