Washington, D.C., March 18, 2015

DBIA Honors the North Carolina DOT, Rex Huffman and Virginia DOT’s Shailendra Patel for Leadership in Advancing Design-Build Best Practices

The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build, has announced the recipients of its 2015 Design-Build in Transportation Leadership Awards. The DBIA awards serve to honor the agencies and individuals from across the country that have made critical strides to advance and expand design-build project delivery through Design-Build Done Right™ within the transportation sector, resulting in enhanced project delivery ranging from faster completion to higher quality projects.

DBIA’s 2015 winners include:

• The North Carolina Department of Transportation, Owner Agency of the Year
• Shailendra Patel, P.E., DBIA, Virginia Department of Transportation, Individual Owner Leadership Award
• Rex D. Huffman, DBIA, Huffman Consulting, LLC, Industry Professional/Practitioner Leadership Award

“We applaud the 2015 Design-Build in Transportation Leadership Award recipients for their tireless work to advance Design-Build Done Right for the benefit of our nation’s economic growth and development,” says Lisa Washington, Executive Director/CEO, DBIA. “With transportation representing the fastest growing design-build sector in the United States, industry leaders like Shailendra Patel, Rex Huffman and the North Carolina DOT are making great strides to advance the growth of design-build delivery to achieve best value in Virginia, North Carolina and communities throughout the country.”

The Design-Build in Transportation Leadership Award winners are selected by DBIA’s Transportation Committee comprised of design-build professionals and industry experts from across the country. They were honored on March 10 at the DBIA Design-Build in Transportation Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Owner of the Year: The North Carolina Department of Transportation
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is a leader in the advancement of alternative project delivery. As a result of the success of the NCDOT Design-Build Program, legislative restrictions on the use of design-build project delivery have been removed, funding for design-build procurement has significantly increased, and design-build success has led to legislative approval of P3 projects. Since the inception of its program in 1998 with three trial projects, NCDOT progressively expanded its design-build delivery, and in 2003 was permitted to use design-build on 25 projects per year. This cap has subsequently been removed entirely. In fact, restrictions on the use of design-build were legislatively lifted in 2013. NCDOT has successfully procured 102 design-build projects, totaling nearly $5 billion. In addition, they have procured their first large P3 project: 26 miles of I-77 widening in Charlotte.

Over the next year, NCDOT design-build totals will increase to more than 110 projects, with a value of close to $6 billion. For the first time ever NCDOT’s recent State Transportation Improvement Program will include designations of design-build projects.

“We are excited and honored to have been selected for this prestigious award,” states Rodger Rochelle, NCDOT Technical Services Administrator. “The success of our program has relied heavily upon the formal interaction among the Department and the contracting and engineering industries at the state level. The Design-Build Institute of America provides a forum for this critical collaboration on the national level.”

Shailendra G. Patel, P.E., DBIA, Virginia Department of Transportation, Owner Category
Shailendra Patel, as the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)’s Alternate Project Delivery Director, is responsible for developing and implementing the Department’s policy on procurement and execution of the design-build program. The processes and policies of the Department’s design-build program allow Mr. Patel to model the design-build procurement program in reflection of DBIA Best Practices.

“I am very excited to be part of this dynamic industry, and I’m committed to contributing to the continued growth and success of design-build,” Patel says. “I believe communication and open dialogue between industry partners (owner, contractor and designer) is the key to ensuring the continued advancement of design-build as an effective project delivery tool for the transportation sector.”

Mr. Patel has provided a key role in the evolution of Virginia’s code defining the use of design-build procurement. He was proactively engaged with the construction industry to develop the design-build program policy and procedures in order to address many industry concerns. This effort ultimately led the industry to support allowing limits imposed on the frequency and use of design-build to expire. Mr. Patel is currently overseeing the 75th design-build procurement for VDOT.

Mr. Patel regularly confers and collaborates with his peers in the industry on various matters relating to design-build project delivery. The wisdom gained through these connections and opportunities has provided Mr. Patel the insight and astuteness to continue to develop one of the strongest transportation design-build programs in the nation, and serve as a mentor for other state and local agencies to further advance design-build best practices.

Rex D. Huffman, DBIA, Huffman Consulting, LLC, Industry Professional/Practitioner Category
Rex Huffman is President of Huffman Consulting, LLC, and has worked in the construction industry for more than 40 years, focusing primarily on design-build project delivery. He has personally managed multiple public and private sector design-build projects in a variety of sectors and has led the design-build sales, marketing and operations departments for three national design-build companies during his lengthy career.

“I have been associated with DBIA for more than twenty years and have witnessed the increase in design-build project delivery across all market sectors,” Huffman says. “It has been very rewarding for me to be involved in having such a positive impact on our construction industry.”

Mr. Huffman has been actively involved in important leadership positions with DBIA since its inception more than 20 years ago, including serving on the National Board of Directors for six years, chairing the DBIA Civil/Infrastructure Committee and Certification Board. Additionally, he is a DBIA Designated Professional, an approved instructor for the DBIA Certification courses and is currently serving on DBIA’s Transportation Markets Committee.

He has also shown continuous leadership and effectiveness on the legislative front across the country to preserve and advance design-build delivery. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has appointed DBIA as a member of their Alternative Project Delivery Task Force, and Mr. Huffman is DBIA’s liaison for that Task Force. In addition, Mr. Huffman has assisted DBIA and the Federal Highway Administration Office of Alterative Project Delivery in supporting states that were new to design-build by assisting their agency representatives in understanding how to achieve success and illustrate the benefits of using DBIA Best Practices.

About DBIA

Established in 1993, the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) is the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build project delivery. Design-build is an integrated approach that delivers design and construction services under one contract with a single point of responsibility. Owners select design-build to achieve best value while meeting schedule, cost and quality goals. Learn more about design-build and DBIA’s certification and other programs at www.dbia.org.