A “green” light for the Galecopper bridge contract in Utrecht, the Netherlands

The Utrecht Ring Road is located in the heart of the Dutch road network. 180,000 vehicles pass the A27 and A12 daily, causing traffic jams and pollution. Widening the road in a densely populated area is complex and challenging. Impacting the Amelisweerd estate, the project also encounters political and social resistance. The project comprises 3 realisation contracts, to be tendered in phases. The first contract to be tendered at the end of 2020 is the Galecopper bridge contract.

Rijkswaterstaat carries out formal internal reviews of the tender dossier at three moments during the contract preparation phase. When the dossier is 10%, 50% and 95% complete. This review process is called “Kwaliteitsborging Aanbestedingsdossier”, which translates into something like Quality Assurance of the Tender Dossier and is referred to as “KAd-review”. These reviews are carried out by Rijkswaterstaat colleagues and provide insight into areas that need more attention. The review results are described in a file with findings and improvement suggestions and delivered to the project team to be addressed. At the 10% and 50% moments, the suggestions can be addressed by the project team. The 95% KAd-review is a ‘traffic light’ moment, providing a red (stop), orange (pause and review) and green (go ahead) result. Before a contract can be tendered, the KAd95% is organised to provide a judgement on whether or not the tender dossier is good enough to be published. An important milestone for the project team! Through these reviews the KAd assessors help the projects to provide a complete tender dossier to the market, that is good enough to be published.  
 
The Galecopper bridge contract team was very successful in the KAd95% process, having received the coveted green light. Something that the project team is very proud of. This means that the project is on schedule and ready to start the tendering phase.
 
Questions about the project? Please visit the website www.a27a12ringutrecht.nl (and have Google translate on) or contact Eelco Negen (Eelco.negen@rijkswaterstaat.nl).