Combining the Progressive Design-Build (PDB) delivery method with Building Information Modeling (BIM) and digital plans on the same project can be described as playing four-dimensional chess. However, while 4D chess may seem complex – and perhaps initially beyond comprehension – it’s not impossible, as proven by ODOT and OCA members Kokosing Construction Co. Inc. and engineering company Michael Baker International.
ODOT’s first foray in utilizing the advanced methods of PDB, BIM and digital plans on a roundabout in northwestern Ohio provided “checkmate proof” that combining these advanced construction tools can expedite design and construction completion, uncover potential issues and get project teams literally on the same page screen.
While completion of the rural single-lane roundabout may not stand out among ODOT’s 955 projects and record $3.4 billion construction season in 2025, the improvement of a dangerous Wood County intersection in ODOT District 2 will be pointed to long into the future.
Chase Wells, a procurement manager in ODOT’s Division of Construction Management, said the U.S. Route 23/State Route 105 roundabout is proof the future is here. “I feel like we have gained a couple of years just by having this one project …” The 15-year ODOT veteran added that ODOT’s Division of Construction and Office of CADD (Computer-Aided Design & Drafting) and Mapping Services have long been working toward completing a BIM project, saying, “We’re trying to further evolve the BIM program … It just becomes more tangible when you can actually apply it to a project instead of talking about what it could be, and what it should be doing and what you need to do. You get the real-world life lessons; it just expedites the learning curve – and that was what we were able to do with this project.”
The $3.2-million improvement project combined three contemporary methods: PDB, BIM and digital/paperless plans.
PDB
While PDB can be traced to the early 2000s, the “name” Progressive Design-Build came about in 2005. PDB is said to provide the “speed” and simplicity” that comes with traditional Design-Build (DB) delivery – which dates to the early 1990s – and adds “collaboration and flexibility” among project members. PDB is when a single-entity, or team, both designs and constructs a project – which improves collaboration between the owner and design-builder.
“PDB builds on the principles of traditional design-build but offers greater flexibility during the early stages of a project,” according to a Mastt.com article, (Design-Build vs. Progressive Design-Build: Key Differences). “In PDB, the owner selects a design-builder based on qualifications rather than cost, and collaborates closely during the design phase before finalizing the price and construction details.”
On the bottom of the page is a comparison of Traditional Design-Build and Progressive Design-Build.
Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, California and Virginia were mentioned in a 2024 American DBE Magazine article (Progressive Design-Build Gaining Traction in Highway Construction) as states with projects in development utilizing PDB. “The PDB method,” according to the article, “differs from a traditional design-build process, where design-build teams are shortlisted after an initial selection, the shortlisted teams then utilize partially developed project plans to propose a strategy to complete the project for a predetermined price … The PDB process brings the owner, architects, engineers and the construction contractor together at the beginning of the project to determine the optimal design based on input from all team members.” (Editor’s note: PDB is also being used in the $3.6-billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project in Cincinnati.)
BIM
Another innovative tool used in the U.S. 23/S.R.105 roundabout project was BIM, which like PDB is newer to road and bridge projects but has been used in the construction industry since the early 2000s.
Similar to the relationship between PDB and DB, Building Information Modeling shares certain qualities with CADD, which was developed in the 1960s. CADD creates 2- and 3D designs, while BIM originated in the 1970s and integrates modeling designs into the project’s construction and management.
According to Construction Digital, “(BIM) goes beyond traditional 3D modeling by incorporating data about materials, costs, schedules and maintenance requirements.” Along with significantly reducing costly errors and delays, BIM technology “allows project managers to visualize the entire construction process, from initial design to completion and beyond,” which enables “better resources allocation, more accurate scheduling and improved risk management.”
Digital Plans
In connection with the BIM aspect of the ODOT District 2 roundabout project was the use of digital, or paperless, plans. According to Fieldwire, a construction jobsite management software company, BIM and digital project plans act “like a digital LEGO set … Instead of flat blueprints, you’re working with a 3D model where every (component) knows what it is, what it’s made of, and how it fits with the rest. Just like LEGO pieces snap together in a structured way, BIM ensures that architects, engineers and builders can see how everything connects …”
Stack, a Cloud-based construction software company, lists several advantages for using digital plans on jobsites:
- Access & Portability – digital blueprints allow project members to access plans and designs anywhere, anytime through smartphones, tablets and laptops
- Real-time Updates & Collaboration – digital plans ensure everyone on the jobsite is working from the most up-to-date, real-time version of the plans – minimizing miscommunication, preventing costly errors and speeding up timelines
- Problem Solving – by zooming in and rotating complex details on digital blueprints, potential issues and errors can be seen and solved early on
- Sustainability & Cost Savings – in addition to eliminating large quantities of paper, ink, physical storage space and cost of shipping project plans, digital blueprints reduce waste, streamlines workflows, increases productivity and profitability
- Streamlined Communication & Documentation – digital blueprints, which reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings, decrease the number of phone calls, emails and physical meetings and provides reliable, accessible records to reference for audits and legal purposes
While a pilot PDB/BIM project had been on ODOT’s to-do list, the U.S. 23/S.R. 105 intersection, located east of Pemberville, had already been shortlisted. “This was part of the Governor’s 150 List for most-dangerous intersections,” said Wells, who added that from 2018-2020 there were nearly 20 accidents – including angle and injury crashes – at the site.
“… What made it dangerous was that there were a lot of people running stop signs …,” added Kokosing Construction Northern Region Senior Area Manager Craig Wing. “It was a two-lane highway intersecting a two-lane highway,” he said of the heavily traveled commercial truck route that was also hampered by an odd approach skew.
Wells said with the remediation being a single-lane roundabout, ODOT believed it to be a good candidate to pilot the innovative procurement methods. “Admittedly, this project was selected because it’s not real complicated. It’s in a rural setting, it’s an intersection between two, two-lane roads.”
Mentioning that the selection of a “not real complicated” project – with no utility conflicts – was intentional, Wells said, “Everybody was sort of glad the first one was an easier one. I think it helped with everybody’s stress level. But at the end of the day, while we did not know what we were walking into (with a PDB delivery), we all knew we could build a roundabout out in Wood County.”
The Kokosing/michael baker team was selected for ODOT’s first fully completed PDB project, a competitive-bidding, value-based process in March 2024. “We entered into a contract with them without a really well-defined scope (for the project),” Wells said. “We built the scope together; we designed the project together; and ultimately, we built the project together.”
Following the initial (1a) “proof of concept” and (1b) “modeling” phase, the project’s next phase was the roundabout’s “actual design,” which was performed from July 2024 until early-spring 2025. “Because of the pilot feature of this project, and we were all learning things through the process,” noted Wing, “it took us a little while to get from ‘OK, we now have the model done,’ to designing the project.”
“We couldn’t enter into Phase 2 until we actually developed the pricing model for Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP),” Wells said, “and that was a collaborative effort that michael baker, Kokosing and (ODOT) District 2 took on. It was open book pricing, and that is something that is also a little bit different from an owner’s perspective.
“(ODOT) is pretty good at putting estimates together based on historical bid prices,” Wells added. “But putting a price together based on labor, equipment and material is not really our expertise; it was a learning curve for us, but it really went pretty smooth in my opinion. We got the GMP relatively quick and then Kokosing built the project in 60 days …”
The project’s 60-day construction began in August and was finished and opened to traffic in October.
Innovation Intrigue
“Obviously, a $2- or $3-million roundabout doesn’t necessarily move the needle very often,” said Wing, a 12-year Kokosing and more than 30-year construction industry veteran. “But the fact that it was going to be a digital delivery project and the progressive design-build obviously intrigued us. We’re trying to learn more about this …”
While Wing was familiar with PDB delivery through other Kokosing projects, he said the use of BIM and paperless plans were new for him and the company’s field crews. “This was actually my third (PDB) project that I was able to complete – my first with ODOT obviously. But on the BIM side, we see that this is the future … There are not going to be (paper) plans, there are going to be digital files that will be passed around. From that standpoint we wanted to be in on the front-end …”
While Kokosing was familiar with BIM, Wing said its project teams had previously only worked with certain aspects of the models – such as producing paper plans or coordinating survey and grade controls on its equipment fleet. “This project was different in that there weren’t paper plans and that we were part of the process of building the model … It was the process of getting our estimators comfortable working inside the model and getting the field forces comfortable with holding an iPad out on the project instead of a set of paper plans.”
Wing said the initial transition from paper to digital plans was daunting. “There were requests for ‘paper sheets’ of information, but we held the line … Along with everything ODOT was trying to learn on the project, we were trying to learn it as well and give feedback.”
Wells said not relying on paper plans was new to ODOT as well, “From estimation all the way to pricing the project to all the way to trying to inspect it was new for everyone. But once we got into it, surprisingly the learning curve wasn’t that high.”
BIM & Digital Plan Benefits
Though a routine project, the U.S. 23/S.R. 105 roundabout project team saw first-hand the benefits that BIM and digital plans provide.
The day before a major portion of the project’s concept was due to ODOT, Wing said Kokosing and michael baker were able to successfully redesign nearly 25% of the project in a single afternoon. “They were able to change it,” he said. “If they were designing it to be on paper, the design could have still been changed but the paper sheets – the planning sheets – would have never caught up that quickly.” With a large portion of time needed “cleaning up” hardcopy plans, Wing added, “One of the big things I see is ODOT is going to either pay less or designers are going to get a lot more actual design work done for their dollar when they go to a completely digital system … The quality of the plans will actually get better.”
OCA Director of Public Agency Advocacy Chris Engle shares Wing’s optimism. “The promise of digital plans is that they will be more able to identify (design) conflicts – and in the long run we’re going to get better plans … Having that ability to identify utility conflicts underground with what’s being constructed will be better and make for easier projects in the long run,” Engle said.
In addition to BIM’s ability in reducing redundancy on projects, Wells hopes that when problems do arise – such as a curbing issue on the U.S. 23/S.R. 105 roundabout – they will be quickly and seamlessly corrected. “When the error was found on the project site it was sent back to the designer and was fixed,” he said. “Those changes took place immediately, and our construction people out there in the field with their iPads had the information at the snap of a finger …”
“The fact that we weren’t waiting for paper (plans) to catch up, everything was being done through the model,” said Wing of the curbing correction. “It was done instantaneously; it was up in The Cloud and instantaneously back down in the iPads in the field. That happened within hours instead of days, and that was because of the modeling.”
While the Wood County roundabout was successful in piloting the use of PDB, BIM and digital plans in a single project, Wells and Wing believe there is still a learning curve.
“From the contractors’ side, we’ve got to be comfortable with our estimating and building off models,” Wing said. “… We’ll get better at that and there may be some efficiencies there that this job did not totally show us in that regard. On a 60-day project like this, you had to get through the learning curve – and 60 days is just not a lot of time to implement what you’ve learned – because you’re already done. So, I think there are going to be gains there that I can’t speak about right now.”
Wing also noted challenges for ODOT and the state, saying, “There are aspects of the process that are not currently ready,” he said. “One of those things is the handling of right of way (ROW). Some things still need to be on paper – the world is not ready for certain things to be digital.”
Wells concurs. “We knew going into the project that that was going to be an issue,” he said of Ohio Revised Code requirements for ROW and plan certification. “It was actually part of the procurement selection of how we make the model become a legal document – and I think we satisfied that partly due to the Progressive Design Build’s nature and collaboration that took place on the project.” Wells also mentioned that project teams need to be diligent about the size of BIM and digital files so that they are adaptable with machine-grade controls and iPads.
While ODOT’s future with BIM, according to Wells, is one project at a time, there is excitement about its future. “We’re taking it slow. We’re just really putting our toe in the water when it comes to modeling.” He envisions future projects being more complex, “like getting something with structures involved – for example we can start looking at a pier or a foundation … We also want to explore a project with maintenance of traffic phases.”
Coming to a Project Near You
The completion of ODOT’s first PDP/BIM/Paperless project is proof that innovation – in an industry sometimes hesitant with change – has arrived. “Change is inevitable, and change, while difficult, shouldn’t be a reason to not push forward,” said Wells. “With what we saw with this project, there are efficiency gains to be had. I feel like we just scratched the surface on what really can be.”
Wing said that while the project’s innovative procedures were – at first – daunting – they lessened. “Whether it was our estimators, who are probably a little more technically savvy, or our field engineers working in the office, or our superintendents and foremen working out in the field, it was all the same: The longer they spent with it the more familiar they got working inside the model … By the time we were done with the project, we all realized that there were a lot of aspects of building a job that were easier. Utilizing the model, working inside the model, the better everybody got. By the end of the project, they liked it; there were so many advantages … There is no doubt in my mind that all of our people involved in this project on the Kokosing-side would love to do more of this.”
Wells and Wing shared advice for contractors in familiarizing companies with the innovative changes that are coming to Ohio projects.
“Find a good designer; they’re out there. And start pursing design-build projects right now,” Wells suggested. “Chase a design-build project; team yourself up with a designer that knows modeling; that way you can learn from them and then translate that into construction.”
“Embrace it,” said Wing. “Get ahold of the software when you get a chance. The only way to get better at it – and this is true with everything – is that you have got to do it.”
Pointing out that Ohio is one of a select few states to have completed a combined PDB/BIM/Paperless project, Wells said. “I think we’re in pretty elite territory right now when it comes to being able to do what we did on this U.S. 23 project … It was the perfect project to start with, because we had the right team involved. I think we created a really strong base when it comes to what we need to do for the next project …”