Delivering a project for a public agency in the U.S. can feel like a strange, parallel world compared to the commercial construction sector. While contractors, engineers and design firms now work through the details of moving their own shops from established 3D BIM frameworks to 5D and digital twin-based workflows, designs and bids for public projects are still happening in 2D, with a lot of time spent recreating models and schedules to fit older standards. This has been frustrating for agencies, designers and contractors alike, but recent efforts to advance standardization, plus funding tucked away in the recently passed $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) may spur the broader advancement of digital processes on public infrastructure work.
“We’ve been encouraging the term 'digital project delivery,'” explains David Unkefer, senior construction engineer with the Federal Highway Authority. “which means state DOTs push forward their ability to take a project digitally from beginning to digital as-builts.” Unkefer is quick to point out that much of what FHWA does is advisory, and the way transportation is organized in the U.S. leaves it to states to step up and seek the necessary grants and aid to advance these digital transitions. But a few state DOTs have been pushing the boundaries of digital delivery, and Unkefer says it is likely that other states will begin drafting in behind them.