In celebration of the National Association for Women in Construction’s (NAWIC) Women in Construction Week this March, DBIA introduces Lisa Choplin, chief of the Innovative Contracting Division with the Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA). Responsible for direct oversight of the planning, implementation, and coordination of the Innovative Contracting Program for the State Highway Administration, Ms. Choplin investigates new and innovative contracting methods for delivering the Administration’s construction projects. She is directly involved in the delivery of the Intercounty Connector (ICC), their largest design-build project to date, and also works with the I-270 Multi-Modal Corridor project, a multi-billion dollar joint project.
On what led her into construction: “I received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University. I grew up in New York State, but decided to go to college in South Carolina for a change of scenery — ultimately ending up half way in between in Maryland. I have been with the State Highway Administration since graduating college. My early years were spent managing the development/design of roadway projects, but in 2000 I inherited MSHA’s design-build program (still in its infancy at the time). Since then, I have focused my efforts on expanding and modifying the program as we gained experience and knowledge. DBIA has been a great venue via the Transportation Conferences for expanding our knowledge by providing the conduit for making contacts throughout the country and sharing experiences. My career in transportation was really a result of luck. I did not graduate with a focus in transportation. At the time, it was where the job opportunity was available. I have enjoyed the different experiences that the transportation field has afforded me.”
Advice to women interested in entering a construction career: “When I started at the State Highway Administration in the late 80’s, it was rare for women to be in the civil engineering field. Today, although women in the construction or transportation fields are still a minority, the opportunities are unlimited. My advice to women interested in pursuing a career in the construction field would be don’t limit yourself, follow your interests, and don’t be intimidated.”
Her current role: “Much of my work requires providing direction to MSHA staff regarding design, policy, and project schedule in the management and coordination of our design-build projects. This position has given me the ability to directly be involved in the delivery of the Intercounty Connector — our largest design-build project to date. Additionally, I am involved in the I-270 Multi-modal Corridor project; a multi-billion dollar joint project between the State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration and the Maryland Transportation Authority to investigate implementing the State’s first roadway related Public-Private Partnership.”
About the ICC project: “The Intercounty Connector is a $2.4 billion highway that will link I-270 in Montgomery County with US 1 in Prince George’s County. The 18.8-mile limited access, express toll road will carry six lanes of traffic. The ICC will include a total of nine interchanges and approximately seventy-five bridges traversing some of the states most sensitive natural and human environment. The Maryland State Highway Administration and Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) are joint sponsors of the ICC. MSHA is overseeing the design, right-of-way acquisition and construction of the project. MdTA will own and operate the tolled highway when completed.”
On utilizing design-build: “Although we have been doing design-build for almost ten years now, this is our first mega project. In 2003, a commitment was made to deliver this project and have it open to traffic by 2010. The project had been started and stopped numerous times over the course of 20 years and never completed the NEPA process. With such an aggressive schedule, design-build seemed like the natural choice. Ultimately, it was decided to break the project into five design-build contracts. A lot of hard work, by a lot of dedicated people has gone into meeting this commitment. The selection of the design-build team for the first contract is almost complete. So, it’s still a work in progress, but I think using design-build was the right choice.”
Overcoming challenges: “I think one of our biggest challenges was the shear size of the ICC. We did not have the manpower or the experience in procuring such a large design-build project. So we brought in a General Engineering Consultant (Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, PB America, and URS) with national design-build experience on their team to assist us. Once the decision was made to break the project into five contracts, our next challenge was developing an approach to best manage these contracts. We needed to ensure that the decisions we made in developing the contract documents met the needs of the project, the State, and continued to facilitate interest by the contracting/consultant industry. We also recognized that we needed to work with the industry up front. So aside from informational meetings geared specifically to the industry, we have provided them with advanced copies of our procurement documents to get their feedback.”
Risk allocation and lessons learned: “One of the first things we did when we decided to use design-build to deliver the ICC was to identify the risks associated with this project and who should be assigned the risk. I think many people have a misconception when they first hear about design-build that all the risk can be assigned to the design-build team. One of the most important steps in risk allocation is to determine which party is best able to manage a particular risk. I also think that the owner has a responsibility to do sufficient investigation, (for example, subsurface investigations via geotechnical borings or utility test pits) to help the design-build team to mitigate some of the risk assigned to them. This will not release the design-build team from the risk nor increase the risk of the Owner, but will help the design-build team when they are developing their price proposal, resulting in a price more in line with the actual cost versus loaded with contingencies.”
Most memorable experience thus far: “The most memorable experience of being involved in this project is working with such a great group of people. Everyone involved in delivering this project has made sacrifices, including their personal time. It is really hard to comprehend the amount of work, coordination and time that goes into successfully delivering a project of this size until you go through it. I think in the end we need to have a big party to celebrate our success!“
On what she hopes to see in the industry: “I don’t know if its as much improvements in the transportation industry as areas I would like to see us grow in (especially as a public agency). The transportation industry is really starting to come into it’s own with respect to design-build. There are several states around the nation that have been successful with Public-Private Partnerships. This is an area that I see public agencies embracing more, and the FHWA has gone a long way to support this through SEP-15.”
Advice to those considering design-build: “I think design-build is a great tool in delivering projects. My advice to an agency considering design-build is do your homework — see what others have done, lay out a process that works for you (one size doesn’t fit all), and make sure you have support from the top down. Finally, and maybe most importantly, partner with the industry.”
Looking to the future: “Looking back over my career, there have been a lot of twists and turns. Our design-build program was not something I sought out, but rather fell on my lap. In order for design-build to be successful, it really requires people who are committed to the process, an understanding of the shifting roles, and the ability to relinquish some control of the project to another party. I hope others would say I have brought that commitment to our program. I am excited to see what the future will bring.”
INFO: Maryland State Highway Administration (www.marylandroads.com)