Letter to the Editor

Bidding clarification

I read with interest the article from the March issue titled "Downsizing WisDOT: Are the cuts worth the cost?" This article was very informative about the current situation at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

However, as vice president of HNTB Corp.-Wisconsin, I want to respond to some misinformation that has been reported in the past and was repeated in your article. I feel it is important that accurate information be shared with the readers of your publication.

Your article discusses a short-term contract that WisDOT had with HNTB to assist with distributing road signs. In January 2004, WisDOT asked for interim assistance from HNTB, as it planned to have counties or private firms handle sign distribution in the future and was looking for a short-term solution to maintain operations.

Through this temporary contract, the cost for the road-sign distribution position was $41 per hour, not $80 per hour as reported in the article.

In addition, the article states that WisDOT awarded Milwaukee Transportation Partners, a joint venture between HNTB Corp. and CH2M Hill, a "no-bid contract" to design the Marquette Interchange Web site. Describing the contract as "no bid" is inaccurate.

As your readers may know, federal law, referred to as the Brooks Bill, requires that a qualifications-based selection process be used when selecting most professional engineering services. In essence, this law mandates that firms are selected based on their technical expertise and experience in providing services specific and unique to any given project. Unlike the construction industry, professional services, like the work done by Milwau-kee Transportation Partners, are not solicited or awarded — because of federal law — based on a low-bid system.

In this case, WisDOT included the Web-based Traveler Information Site in its original request for proposal for the final design of the Marquette Interchange. MTP competitively pursued, and was ultimately awarded, the preliminary and final design work for the project, which included development of the TIS. That process included consultant interviews, selections and negotiations by the local WisDOT Marquette Interchange team.

The www.mchange.org site has already proven to be an invaluable asset to the public during the reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange, with thousands of people turning to the site for project information, directions for navigating through construction-related closures and more. While the site is simple and easy to use, it is techno-
logically advanced from a computer-programming perspective.

Contrary to a comment in your article, the TIS required collaboration among transportation/traffic engineering experts with in-depth knowledge of intelligent transportation systems and other transportation expertise.

Because the Marquette Interchange project has been designated a "mega" project by the Federal Highway Administration, it is one of the most heavily monitored and scrutinized projects in the country. Our team welcomes that attention, but it wants all information shared about the project and our companies to be factually accurate.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this information with your readers.

Brian Swenson
Vice President
HNTB Corp.-Wisconsin