FDOT District 7 General Engineering Consultant (GEC)

For a five‐year period under a $30 million contract, Lochner acted as general engineering consultant for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 7. Services under this contract span transportation development support tasks in the areas of engineering, surveying, architecture, landscaping, geographic information systems, and management with a primary focus on the following:

• Design‐build procurements, including development and administration of requests for proposals (RFPs), design criteria packages, and contract terms; assistance during bidding phase; corridor permitting; and right of way coordination
• Active design‐build contract support
• Providing in‐house staff support
• Right of way acquisition support, including appraisal, cost estimation, negotiation, relocation, and property management services

Lochner also led a large multidisciplinary in‐house and subconsultant team to respond to the varied, and often concurrent, task orders issued by District 7. Examples of the task orders Lochner completed are below.

Tasks 1, 9, 16: Gateway Expressway Design‐Build RFP Support. Design‐build RFP development for a $595 million limited‐access static and dynamically tolled expressway corridor that links Roosevelt Boulevard, US 19, and I‐275, plus express lanes in the median of I‐275, in Pinellas County. Lochner combined six sets of design plans, originally intended to be advertised as separate projects, into one homogenous design for a single design‐build RFP. Lochner also prepared the RFP, technical specifications, alternative design concepts, concept plans, typical section packages, pavement designs, and cost estimates, supporting adherence to aesthetic, master signing, and other design criteria. Lochner was further responsible for airport and local government coordination, utility coordination, and right of way support. Lochner subsequently provided technical advice to FDOT during the two‐stage selection and evaluation process, reviewed the plans and alternative technical concepts submitted in Stage 2, reviewed design plans prior to construction, and served as the owner’s representative during construction.

Tasks 3, 4, 5, 10: Interchange Analyses. Conceptual design, construction cost estimation, assessment of right‐of‐way impacts and level‐of‐service analysis for the addition of express lanes through the following interchanges:

• I‐275/SR 60: Lochner’s concepts included connections to Tampa International Airport, the Veterans Expressway express lanes, and a Westshore intermodal center; general access to the Westshore business district; and future connections to an intercity passenger rail system.
• I‐275/I‐4: Lochner’s concepts included connections to downtown Tampa and the identification of a proposed rail envelope.
• I‐75/I‐4: Lochner’s concepts included connections to express lanes in all directions to and from I‐75 and the accommodation of a high‐speed rail corridor considered for construction in this area.

Tasks 12, 21: Design‐Build RFP Development. Development of concept plans and design‐build RFPs as well as procurement support, plan reviews, and owners representative support during final design and construction for over 25 design‐build projects. These projects ranged in size and scope and included major reconstructions such as the Gateway Expressway and Tampa Bay Next (TBNext); new alignment arterials such as SR 56; interstate operational improvements; and major intelligent transportation system (ITS) projects such as the advanced traffic management systems for the City of Tampa and Dale Mabry. Additional projects included the Tri‐County Trail project and the I‐75 rest area replacement and truck parking expansion project.

Task 14: Tolling Support Services and Master Signing Plan for TBNext. Development of tolling and master signing plans for the potential addition of express lanes along I‐275 and I‐4 under the TBNext program. For the tolling plan, Lochner coordinated with FDOT District 7 and Florida Turnpike Enterprise staff on the conceptual design, the location of access points and toll gantries, destination signing design, and project segmentation to allow a phased implementation. Lochner also worked with district staff and first responders, such as the Florida Highway Patrol and fire departments, to identify potential staging areas and incident investigation sites. These sites were then incorporated into project information and graphics, which were presented at traffic incident management (TIM) meetings. Additionally, Lochner coordinated regularly with staff performing the traffic and revenue (T&R) study and the regional concept of transportation operations (RCTO). Lochner’s deliverables included lane line diagrams, conceptual toll gantry site plans, and master signing plans for all sections of TBNext, including general use and express lane signing.

Tasks 15, 19, 26: General Design Services for TBNext. Alternatives analysis for three major interchanges within the TBNext project limits: the I‐275/SR 60 interchange, the I‐4/I‐75 interchange, and the I‐275/I‐4 (downtown) interchange. For all three interchanges, the Lochner team developed alternative concepts to reduce cost and right of way while still providing the required express lanes and accommodating future transit corridors. Lochner then oversaw the implementation of proposed interchange ideas for the I‐275/SR 60 and I‐4/I‐75 interchanges while refining the I‐275/I‐4 (downtown) interchange concept into the current preferred alternative. Additionally, Lochner provided on‐going support for the project’s visualization/animations, operation and maintenance (O&M) reports, LRE cost estimates, and cost and schedule risk workshops.