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Value Studies for Recent Projects

Over the past year, VMS has conducted value studies for the following clients:

California Dept. of Transportation
City of Fontana, CA
City of New York, NY
City of Vancouver, WA

Golden Gate Bridge District

This project proposes to replace the existing Antlers Bridge, on Interstate 5, which spans the Sacramento River arm of Lake Shasta.  Included in the scope is consideration to modify the centerline alignment of the freeway to improve radii of the two curves immediately south of the structure.  Depending on the concepts adopted, the new structure will have two 3.6-meter northbound lanes, three 3.6-meter southbound lanes, a 6.6-meter median, and 3.0-meter shoulders.  The original estimated cost of the project was approximately $105 million.

The VMS led Value Analysis team developed eleven VA alternatives, six of which were organized into two sets.  Of these alternatives, two were accepted and three others were identified as conditionally accepted.  One of the accepted alternatives resulted in the adoption of a new highway alignment that will improve the horizontal geometry and save over $12 million in construction costs.  Another accepted alternative will allow the contractor to develop a temporary boat ramp for construction purposes on the west side of the north abutment for staging purposes.  These two alternatives resulted in a net performance improvement of 19% with an increase in total value by 35%.

The California Department of Transportation’s District 8, encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties, has partnered with two local transportation agencies to plan and construct a new Transportation Management Center (TMC). Facility design is currently scheduled to begin in December 2004, with construction starting in February 2007, and move-in planned for June 2008.  This facility will co-locate the California Highway patrol’s 911 Emergency Response operations with Caltrans traffic management operations in this facility.  The TMC will consist of a 2-story base isolated structure with a total floor space area of 45,000 square feet.  An 80- to 120-foot communications tower will be constructed on the site for the TMC.  A Park and Ride lot of approximately 200 spaces will be developed as part of the TMC.  The TMC would be designed to meet the requirements of the Essential Services Act of 1986 and will accommodate a staff of approximately 175 employees, which will be moved from two facilities in the City of San Bernardino.

The project is currently in the early stages of design development.  The budget for the project per the Project Study Report, dated September 13, 2001, is approximately $30 million.  The VMS, Inc. led Value Analysis team identified 21 VA alternatives that recommend improvements to all aspects of the design.  The VA alternatives have the potential of saving over $2 million in construction costs and $5 million in life cycle costs while improving project performance by nearly 50%. 

SR 29 / SR 12 Interchange Improvements, Napa, CA

VMS recently completed a challenging project for the California Dept. of Transportation.  The SR 29/SR 12 Interchange Improvements project is being developed in order to improve operations and traffic safety at the current junction, which is a signalized, at-grade intersection.  The original Project Study Report identified eight build alternatives to be further studied during the Project Approval Environmental Document (PA/ED) phase. The alternatives included three at-grade improvements (two of which are low cost alternatives), upgrading the intersection to an interchange with a tight diamond, single point or partial cloverleaf configuration, including a low cost interchange alternative, and constructing a flyover for the Route 29 southbound to Route 12 eastbound traffic movement.

The estimated capital costs range from $26 million for the tight diamond interchange to $42 million for the partial cloverleaf interchange. This intersection is being studied at the request of the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency (NCTPA).

The VMS, inc. led Value Analysis team developed seven alternatives for improvement of the project.  One of the most important alternatives, which has subsequently been identified as the "preferred" alternative, is a modified single point urban interchange.  This alternative will dramatically improve project performance by approximately 60%.  Another innovative VA alternative would acquire a construction easement south of the existing alignment in order to construct a temporary facility to maintain traffic while SR 12 is reconstructed and the new overcrossing is built.  This alternative would significantly improve construction staging, reduce the construction schedule by half a year, and save $10's of millions in highway-user costs.

Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant, Queens, NY

The Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) is located on Berrian Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, New York. It began operation in 1939 and serves the western portion of the Borough of Queens.  The Bowery Bay WPCP has undergone a series of expansions and upgrades over the years with major construction projects occurring in 1940, 1949, 1954, and 1971-75. The plant is currently undergoing an upgrade which includes new raw sewage pumps, return activated sludge (RAS) pumps for 100% RAS flow, primary tank skimming equipment, hypochlorination equipment, and a residuals handling building.

The plant is a step-aeration activated sludge plant designed for an average dry weather flow of 150 million gallons per day (mgd). Maximum primary treatment capacity is 300 mgd. Secondary treatment facilities can handle 225 mgd, which is one and one-half times the average dry weather flow. The estimated average daily flow for 1990 was 159 mgd and the mean dry weather flow was 143 mgd. Two intercepting sewers, one low level and one high level, convey wastewater to the plant. The invert of the low level interceptor as it enters the plant is at elevation -36.1 feet below the invert of the high level sewer. Treated effluent is discharged into the Rikers Island Channel through a 10-foot diameter outfall. 

The reconciled cost estimate places the construction value of the proposed upgrades at approximately $106 million with a target completion date of December 31, 2010. The original proposed plan was estimated at $149 million. 

The VMS, Inc. led VA Study identified 29 alternatives and 27 design suggestions.  Of these, 33 were accepted for a total of $3.8 million in savings.  Four additional alternatives are being studied further, which could yield an additional $2 million.