Hailey Hudson and Avery Meyer: Progressive Design Build for a Bus Rapid Transit Project
In celebration of Infrastructure Week, we continue our exploration of Progressive Design-Build (PDB) with a timely case study: a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Improvements Project. Much like the sports-driven deadline in our previous article, this initiative is racing toward completion for an international sporting event. PMA’s Hailey Hudson and Avery Meyer take a closer look at how PDB is helping a transportation authority meet the moment—enhancing regional mobility, speeding up project delivery, and demonstrating the value of innovative infrastructure delivery methods.
As the prime construction support consultant, PMA leads a team of subcontractors during the execution of this five-to-seven-year contract, which will advance infrastructure improvements along an existing 18-mile BRT corridor/roadway.
PMA supports a transit authority from 30% design through revenue service, providing construction and stakeholder management and emphasizing the communication and coordination essential to successful PDB execution. PDB allowed significant client input throughout the design phase and provided flexibility to address evolving project requirements. One of the primary reasons the owner chose the PDB project delivery method was the variety of design scopes and the different levels of development across them. Additionally, this method allows for more price certainty going into construction and helps avoid costly change orders and claims at the project’s finish.
Hailey Hudson joined the project in April of 2023, and one of the first processes she experienced was value engineering. She serves as the project/office engineer, representing the owner in design and construction management for bike path improvements, detours, traffic control, and gated intersections design. She is also responsible for coordinating work related to worksite traffic control, BRT detours, real estate, quality assessments, technical review, community relations, and administrative support.
Avery has been on the project since 2022. He serves as the assistant resident engineer, representing the owner in the design and construction management of two grade separations and an elevated BRT station. He is also responsible for technical review, interfacing, and facilitating third-party project coordination; quality assessments; document control process management; and administrative support.
Project Insights
Value Engineering Challenges
Early in the design phase (between 30% and 60% design completion), the team participated in the value engineering process by contributing ideas, assessing alternatives, and providing decision-making support. Value engineering allowed the project to identify opportunities for cost savings through design modifications and scope reductions. When combined with the cost buildup progression typical to PDB projects, the project was able to negotiate a pathway to acceptable Phase 2 construction pricing, simultaneously engineering and negotiating to a limited project budget and duration.
Design Management
During the design phase, Avery devoted significant effort to design management. This included extensive coordination between the owner and contractor to ensure the design aligned with the contract and the budget. Negotiating with the client and the contractors in a fast-paced environment is a characteristic of PDB. PMA played a key role in this process, helping to navigate challenges, particularly during value engineering.
Early Work Packages
To bring the Phase 2 scope forward, the project team implemented four early work packages. Each package required separate negotiations once a defined scope was agreed upon. While these packages helped advance parts of the project, the process required the owner to remain agile. The individual timelines of the early work packages and their integration into the larger project were challenges effectively addressed by the PDB approach.
Lessons Learned & Team Dynamics
PDB as a Learning Process
PDB is inherently iterative, requiring the team to adapt processes as they go. Its collaborative and flexible nature allows for problem-solving in real time, but also presents challenges in terms of coordination and decision-making.
Team Insights
This was Hailey’s first PDB project, and in addition to risk management, she enjoyed integrating design and construction, particularly during the design phase. She noted that the success of a PDB project is highly dependent on the team’s ability to work together effectively.
Current Status and Outlook
The design phase for most of the project is complete, but the Phase 2 contract is not finalized due to ongoing development of key scopes, including gate technology and fiber work. These elements are expected to be packaged into a final proposal to wrap up the majority of the remaining scope.
Rising to the challenges, PMA’s mastery of the PDB approach has allowed the owner to navigate a complex and evolving project, leveraging client input and iterative processes to address unique project demands.