Letter to Governor Cuomo highlighting the design-build method for disaster relief in New York State from Executive Director of Unshackle Upstate, Brian Sampson.

1. September 14, 2011
Howard Glaser, Director of State Operations
Executive Chamber
Albany, NY 12224
RE: Expediting Infrastructure Repair through the Use of Design-Build
Dear Mr. Glaser:
I write to thank the Governor for his leadership during this difficult time, and for his recognition that
state and local governments must do all that they can to help the families, businesses and communities
that have been devastated by the recent flooding get back on their feet.
Given the current fiscal realities – that the state and local governments face significant financial
limitations that will affect their ability to pay for the rebuilding roads, bridges, schools and other public
infrastructure – we urge you to take immediate steps to reduce the cost of rebuilding the roads, bridges
and schools that have been damaged.
To that end, I urge Governor Cuomo to use his emergency authority to expedite the repair and
replacement of roads, bridges and other infrastructure by authorizing the use of alternative project
delivery methods such as design-build in those counties subject to federal or state disaster declarations.
Design-build is a method of project delivery in which a single entity works under one contract with the
project owner to provide design and construction services, providing a unified flow of work from initial
concept through completion. The design-build process has been used successfully throughout the nation
in constructing office buildings, schools, stadiums, transportation and water infrastructure projects with
superior results.
I believe that under the circumstances that the state and many of its local governments are facing today
in terms of storm recovery, design-build represents a superior alternative to the design-bid-build
process in which design and construction responsibilities are undertaken by separate entities under
separate contracts.

2. President Obama recently acknowledge that government use of design-build can expedite the delivery
of infrastructure in an August 31st memorandum directing the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce,
Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Transportation to select up to three high priority
infrastructure projects within the control and jurisdiction of the Federal government to be completed
within 18 months. The President’s memorandum calls for facilitating interagency coordination and
encouraging State use of construction acceleration techniques such as design-build.
The recent replacement of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis after its tragic collapse may provide New York
State will a useful example of what is possible using the design-build process. According to the
Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), the use of design-build had numerous benefits in
terms of efficiency and reduced costs, including:
- the completion time was reduced because of the ability to overlap design and construction;
- the process allowed for greater innovation and flexibility in selecting design, materials and
construction methods;
- there were fewer claims due to design errors because construction happened under the same
contract; and
- there was a single contact point for quality, cost and scheduling for the entire project (from
design through construction).
For more information on this project, please see the enclosed document from the 2009 National Design-
Build Awards Competition.
Design-build has been used successfully here in New York State as well. The East Harlem School, a
charter school in Manhattan, was constructed using the design-build process. Architectural
Construction Services (ARCS) acted as general contractor on the project, hiring subcontractors to work
under its supervision. Under their design-build model, they were able to share costs and balance sheets
with the client, providing a transparent operation and allowing for savings elsewhere. For more
information on this project, see the enclosed document prepared by Peter Gluck & Partners, parent
company of ARCS.
As New York State and the its impacted communities struggle to recover from what we can only hope is
a once-in-a-lifetime natural disaster, I feel that it is important that the Governor permit the use of
integrated design-build techniques to expedite the restoration of our state’s critical infrastructure.
Please contact me if I can provide you with any further information on this.
Yours,
Brian Sampson, Executive Director
Unshackle Upstate