RCTC approves amendments for legal and construction‑management support on 91 Eastbound corridor project

The Riverside County Transportation Commission approved amendments to on‑call agreements with Nossaman LLP for specialized legal services and with Parsons Transportation Group for project and construction management services to support the 91 Eastbound Corridor Operations Project, a progressive design‑build effort to add an operational lane and related improvements.

Sherry (staff) described the project as an addition of an operational lane eastbound through a steep hillside corridor that includes retaining‑wall work, grading and rockfall mitigation. Staff recommended sole‑source amendments because both firms previously supported the commission on similar progressive design‑build procurements and brought lessons learned intended to streamline procurement and contract development.

For legal services, staff reported Nossaman’s prior experience drafting progressive design‑build procurement documents and supporting protests and negotiations; staff initially cited a Nossaman cost of $2,500,000 plus a 10% contingency (about $2,750,000) and later presented recommended authorization figures in the staff slide package. For project and construction management (PCM) Phase 1 services, Parsons was proposed to provide procurement support, independent cost estimates, constructability reviews and project controls; staff presented an estimated Phase 1 PCM cost of about $9,700,000 with a 10% contingency (total about $10,700,000).

The progressive design‑build approach described in the presentation will select a design‑build team via qualifications, negotiate a preconstruction phase using open‑book estimating, then either execute a guaranteed maximum price to proceed to final design and construction or use off‑ramps to reprocure or complete design as needed.

Commissioners asked for specifics on lessons learned from prior procurements, schedule acceleration and whether current retaining‑wall and other nearby work would be compatible with future corridor widening. Staff said lessons from the I‑15 Southern Extension procurement would shorten timelines on the 91 project and that project design will consider master‑plan corridor needs where feasible. The committee voted to approve the amendments and authorized staff to execute the amendments and contingencies as presented.