CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS AND DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES EMPLOYED TO MINIMIZE ADVERSARY RELATIONSHIPS: EISENHOWER MEMORIAL TUNNEL, SECOND BORE

The Colorado Department of Highways awarded a contract to construct the first bore of the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel on October 3, 1967. The tunnel was opened to traffic on March 8, 1973, two years behind schedule and had a cost overrun of approximately 125 percent. Substantial difficulty was encountered in constructing the tunnel due to the bad ground conditions that existed in the eastern half of the tunnel. A redesign was necessary and the project contract was modified to a cost contract to complete the eastern portion of the tunnel. Not only did the ground conditions deteriorate, but the working relationship between the owner and contractor developed into a classical adversary relationship. With the previous construction history indelibly impressed in the owner's mind, steps were taken in June 1973 to develop a design to complete the facility by driving the second bore. Considerable attention was given to development of a workable design and equitable contract provisions that would share and minimize risks involved. The second bore contract incorporated equitable contract provisions along with two new provisions that provided for the establishment of a project review board to handle major construction disputes and escrow documents (contractor's bid documents) to serve as a basis for evaluating the contractor's bid. The escrow documents would also facilitate equitable settlement of major construction disputes. The contract for the second bore was awared to the joint venture contractor of Peter Kiewit Sons Company and Brown and Root on August 11, 1975. The contract was completed successfully nine days early, within budget, and approximately three percent under the engineer's estimate. The contract and its provisions, along with the design, helped to produce an outstanding product.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1981/792/792-007.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CONTRACTUAL+REQUIREMENTS+AND+DESIGN+PHILOSOPHIES+EMPLOYED+TO+MINIMIZE+ADVERSARY+RELATIONSHIPS%3A+EISENHOWER+MEMORIAL+TUNNEL%2C+SECOND+BORE&author=P.+McOllough&publication_year=1981
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Quality Assurance and Acceptance Procedures. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • McOllough, Phillip R
• Publication Date: 1981

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Pagination: pp 14-19
• Monograph Title: Contractual Relationships: An Essential Ingredient of the Quality-Assurance System and Other Quality-Control Papers
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 792
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bids; Contractors; Contracts; Costs; Hazards; Litigation; Minimization; Risk assessment; Specifications; Structural design; Tunneling; Tunnels
• Uncontrolled Terms: Requirement; Tunnel design
• Old TRIS Terms: Cost plus contracts
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Bridges and other structures; Construction; Finance; Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; I54: Construction of Tunnels;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00341150
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309032067
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 28 1981 12:00AM