Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) selected the Louisiana Diversion Company (LDC) to provide Construction Management At-Risk (CMAR) services for the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion Project, the agency announced Monday.
The CMAR model integrates the construction contractor during the early design phase of the project to obtain input on cost, scheduling and constructability, a process that is expected to lower costs and increase the pace of construction.
The CMAR contractor will work collaboratively with Stantec, the project’s designer that was selected in February 2018.
According to the CPRA, the CMAR model in Louisiana involves two contracts: a pre-construction phase contract and construction phase contract. CPRA’s selection of LDC for the pre-construction phase contract is estimated to be valued at $12.4 million, with the scope of this contract including design of temporary works, constructability reviews, and project cost estimating throughout the design process of the project.
Once the design is complete, CPRA will negotiate a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of construction with LDC. If negotiations are successful, the construction phase contract will then be awarded for the agreed upon GMP.
LDC is a joint venture (JV) of Brown and Root, Massman Construction Co., Parsons Construction Group, and Traylor Bros, Inc., four long-established and well-acquainted firms with nearly 400 years of combined experience in meeting the unique flood control and water resources challenges found in southeastern Louisiana.
“ Using the CMAR method of project delivery brings the construction contractor to the table during the design phase of the project ,” said Mid-Basin Sediment Diversion Program Manager Brad Barth . “ This early collaboration between the contractor and designer provides a unique opportunity to reduce project time, costs and risks .”
The Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion Project is part of the Mississippi River Mid-Basin Sediment Diversion Program, which also includes the proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. The proposed location for the project is on the east bank of the Mississippi River at Wills Point, about seven miles north of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion.
These two projects will be the first controlled sediment diversions reconnecting the Mississippi River with its delta. A cornerstone of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan, these diversions will provide sediment, water and nutrients to the basins in order to build, maintain and sustain the wetlands, complementing the billions of dollars that have been or will be invested in coastal protection and restoration projects, such as marsh creation projects, which utilize Mississippi River dredging.