Root Causes and Mitigation Measures for Bid Protest in Alternative Contracting Methods

Well-planned procurement processes are critical for transportation agencies, because there are many possible bases for protest made by unsuccessful proposers. When these issues occur, a proposer who has expended considerable resources on the procurement and was not selected may decide to protest the selection decision. There is also a risk that the protest will necessitate canceling the procurement and reprocuring the project, resulting in additional costs and delays to project implementation. Therefore, transportation agencies need to identify potential situations that may give rise to protests in procurement for alternative contracting method (ACM) projects so that they can take appropriate measures to reduce the risk and ensure that the procurement process proceeds as planned. ACMs include project delivery methods, procurement strategies, and payment types. The objectives of this project are to (1) identify, assess, and analyze root causes of bid protests in various ACMs and (2) provide strategies to avoid and mitigate them. The analysis will (1) result in prioritizing risks pertinent to various ACMs that may lead to protests and (2) identify proposed strategies to implement in drafting bid documents and practices to avoid bid protests.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5864
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $350,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 11-11

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Jared, David

• Start Date: 20250526
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bids; Contract administration; Decision making; Risk management; State departments of transportation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Construction; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01956570
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 11-11
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 28 2025 10:18AM