Toward a New Paradigm: Simultaneous Use of Multiple Project Delivery Methods

Since World War II, the American Strategy for infrastructure procurement has evolved to rely primarily upon a single delivery method, design/bid/build. While this strategy was used to implement massive federal investment in highways, transit systems, and wastewater treatment, it has restricted state and local flexibility in aligning the procurement process to achieve best value for locally funded projects. The engineering, procurement, and construction community in the United States has now recognized the limitations of a procurement process designed to support a single delivery method. Change is coming, and the transition to a new process will challenge public owners in novel, but meaningful ways. This paper focuses upon shifting from the current paradigm toward a new model that supports simultaneous use of multiple project delivery methods. The discussion and frameworks provided are the result of a variety of research efforts by the Infrastructure Systems Development Research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Studies of the history of American Infrastructure, analyses of case studies across the country, development of decision support models for capital programming, and real applications to municipal infrastructure planning provide the underpinnings for the results and conclusions presented.