FHWA approves final rule on design-build contracting

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a final rule in the Federal Register to allow design-build contracting for transportation infrastructure projects. The regulation allows, but does not require, the use of design-build contracting procedures. The design-build method combines responsibility for the design and the construction phases of a transportation project. When the final rule becomes effective on Jan. 9, 2003, recipients in the federal-aid highway program will be able to use the new method just as they would the traditional design-bid-build contracting method. "By enabling us to initiate and complete more transportation projects sooner, design-build contracting can save both time and money for everyone involved--taxpayers, private industry and all levels of government," FHWA Administrator Mary E. Peters said. Congress limited the design-build regulation to projects greater than $50 million or Intelligent Transportation System design-build projects greater than $5 million.