Despite ongoing news reports of a down economy, at least two states pledged last month to spend big in FY’ 2012 to upgrade their infrastructure including roads, highways and mass-transit systems. California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently announced it has allocated $825 million in new funding for upcoming infrastructure projects. The expense is being touted as a way to create jobs and improve transportation for Californians. Part of the funding is allocated specifically for projects using a design-build project management system that offers a change from the traditional construction projects to create a single point of responsibility and reduce risk and cost. This process is currently being utilized in 32 other states, and many other countries.

On August 1, 2007, the I-35 W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed injuring 144 people and killing 13. The official accident report cites the cause for collapse as poor quality control, insufficient design review procedures, and a lack of due diligence in weight monitoring of construction equipment parked on the bridge. Investigative reporter, Bill Dedman, reported the immediately available details of the accident noting the bridge had recently been rated Among the Nation’s Worst. In 2007, the I-35 bridge ranked barely better than 4% of the nation’s bridges.