Vining says that “technically, the way the RFP was written, and from what the Corps said at industry days discussions, [it was] asking bidders to give as much as they can for $700 million. ” However, all bids other than CBY’s came in at or slightly over $700 million, which he says indicates that bidders did not understand the RFP. 

Contractors seemed to be flummoxed by the “build-to-budget” price strategy. The approach is associated with design-build and is often used by the U.S. Defense Dept., says Richard Thomas, vice president of advocacy and external affairs for the Design-Build Institute of America.

Because the Corps district has never previously used build-to-budget, officials brought in “an expert from DBIA to help us communicate the concept,” says Ricky Boyette, a district spokeman.

To remedy any further confusion, the draft amendment to the new RFP deletes the following paragraph that was in the original: “However, the Government desires to maximize the best value obtainable for that amount. Therefore, offerors should strive to propose the best technical/management solution within that budget amount. Technical/ management approaches that seek to trade off performance in favor of costs below the contract budget amount are not desired and will not be rewarded. “

Bechtel did not respond to a request on its plans to rebid the contract and a Kiewit spokesman would not “publicly speculate about work we are considering.”

Darryl Shepherd, a CDM spokesman speaking for the CBY team, says “we have received the draft amendment and statement of facts from the Corps, and we are currently reviewing the information and evaluating our options for moving forward.” But according to other industry officials who decline to be identified because they are not authorized to respond, CBY won’t re-bid the project and may protest the Corps’ decision to reprocure.

Sources who also sought anonymity, say that another bidder, Weston Solutions Inc., West Chester, Pa., also may not participate in the re-bid.

The Corps won’t release the names of the short listed bidders, but GAO documents reveal there were a total of five. In addition to CBY, PCCP, Bechtel and Weston, Archer Western Contractors, Atlanta, was identified as the fifth bidder.