Seattle's Sound Transit awards $1.6B of contracts for $2.8B Lynnwood Link Extension | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC
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The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) Board of Directors on Thursday awarded two contracts totaling more than $1.6 billion for approximately 8 miles of the $2.8 billion Lynnwood Link Extension light-rail project in Seattle.
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Both contracts, according to staff reports, will use the general contractor/construction manager (GC/CM) alternate public works project delivery method. A GC/CM delivery for Sound Transit and other public projects in Washington state is chosen early on and helps the owner agency with the design process and then manages construction, with all parties benefiting from collaboration. This delivery is also known as Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) because the contractor takes on part of the project's risk.
The City of Seattle's Department of Finance and Administrative Services outlined some benefits for agencies considering using the GC/CM delivery method, and those are:
- Better budget control, time savings and fewer change orders because parties discuss and review all elements from the design process forward
- Balanced risk between the owner and contractor
- A more realistic schedule
- More minority and disadvantaged contractor opportunities
- Design elements and their costs can be modified to meet the final budget
However, there are some risks, the city said, for those new to the method and for those who are not used to working as part of a team, and it is not a good fit for every project, leaving room for other delivery methods like design-bid-build.