Osceola County, Fla., has overhauled its troubled roadbuilding program by hiring firms that typically do vertical construction management. Staffing is the problem. Roadwork in the county had increased sevenfold while public-works department staff went from 240 to 190. Twenty months ago, the department was more than $386 million behind in putting projects out for bid and faced the prospect of returning impact fees to developers. Several projects were over budget or stuck at 30% design for years.

“We have one of the most aggressive programs in the country, and we are passionate about construction management,” says new public-works administrator Ken Atkins. He decided to hire construction managers and privatize engineering, surveying and inspection to break the logjam. To handle CM on six projects, the county contracted with Balfour Beatty Construction, Orlando; W.G. Mills, Sarasota, Fla.; Clancy & Theys Construction Co., Orlando; Kraft Construction Co., Fort Myers, Fla.; Jacobs Field Services North America, Tampa; and Turner Construction Co.’s Orlando office.