The award last month of a $581- million design-build contract to a Fluor-Balfour Beatty team to build a new expressway near Austin is not sitting well with the losing team or with local contractors. Texas firms say they are being squeezed out of competition by mandatory design-build procurement rules on large projects, while the losing bidder on the Bergstrom Expressway, led by Spanish giant Ferrovial Agroman, has challenged its loss in a bid protest.
The Ferrovial Agroman team claims that the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority graded its technical proposal and project execution plan too low and also contends there was a conflict of interest in the selection because a subcontractor on Fluor's team, Beverly Silas & Associates, is run by a board member of the Austin Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority; it is listed as a project partner, says a media report. The central Texas agency had a deadline of this week to decide to maintain the contract award or rebid. Media reports indicate the Ferrovial team intends to sue if the award is upheld.