Leveraging The CM/GC Project Delivery Approach for Remote High Elevation Dam Rehabilitation Projects In Colorado-Paper

Paper

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) shifted from design-bid-build to Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) delivery for complex dam rehabilitations in remote, high-altitude locations. Traditional procurement had contributed to cost and schedule overruns and construction claims. Under CM/GC, the contractor joins an Integrated Project Team during design, helping assess constructability, costs, risks, materials, phasing, and schedule before construction begins.<br /><br />The paper describes two high-hazard dam projects completed with SEMA Construction: North Michigan Creek Dam and Alberta Park Dam. Both required upgrades to spillways, outlet works, embankments, seepage controls, and instrumentation. Their short construction seasons, snowmelt and weather, remote access, limited labor and supplies, and stakeholder and environmental requirements made early planning especially valuable.<br /><br />The team used iterative cost estimates, an integrated schedule, long-lead procurement, and a shared risk register. Construction innovations included a geosynthetic clay liner at Alberta Park, which avoided unsuitable local clay and saved an estimated $500,000 and six weeks, and a revised spillway design that avoided rock excavation and reinforcement, saving more than $350,000 and about four weeks. Risk planning also helped the team respond to unexpectedly high snowpack, inaccurate as-built information, and unforeseen outlet-pipe dimensions.<br /><br />Both projects finished at their negotiated construction-agreed prices: $5.4 million for North Michigan Creek and $5.6 million for Alberta Park, below their respective conceptual estimates of $6 million and $7 million. The authors report average CM/GC savings of 10–20%, with schedule acceleration and no claim complications. They conclude that contractor involvement during design improved cost certainty, risk management, and timely restoration of safe dam operations while preserving project scope and quality.

Keywords

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

CM/GC delivery

dam rehabilitation

construction manager general contractor

high-hazard dams

constructability review

cost savings

schedule acceleration

risk management

SEMA Construction