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Project Delivery Guide

Life Cycle Graphic 

At the Oregon Department of Transportation, the system lifecycle begins with analysis and planning of the existing system to identify potential projects and ends when a project transitions into maintenance and operations.

The process has four stages:

  • Program Development
  • Project Development
  • Construction Management
  • Maintenance and Operations

Each stage includes distinct activities and products. The Project Delivery Guidebook covers the first two stages of the system lifecycle: Program Development and Project Development.

Contact Project Management Office

4040 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE, MS 4
Salem, OR 97302-1142
Phone: 503-986-5875

Staff Contacts

Projects are created during the program development stage, beginning with transportation planning, to identify needs at the state and local levels.

Program development ends when the Oregon Transportation Commission and Federal Highway Administration approve the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

The Project Delivery Guidebook addresses the topics listed below.

All of the content listed below can be quickly located by using the "bookmark" tool to the left of the text. This will show a linked index within the document.

Transportation Planning: This phase provides an overview of Planning purpose, deliverables and expectations. The Transportation Planning Section is responsible for managing the statewide policy planning process and the Regional Planning Units are responsible for managing the system planning process; project leaders do not have direct responsibility for any of the deliverables.

Planning Transition: This phase provides an overview of the inputs to project scope and definition. The intent of this phase is to maximize communication and understanding between planning and project development.

Competitive Process or System Management: This phase defines the Transportation Management System used to evaluate the highway assets and systems and assist in the selection of projects. This phase further defines competitive process and provides an overview of how potential projects are identified.

Business Case Development: This phase provides an overview of the Business Case development process as well as outlines business case deliverables and expectations.

Scoping: This phase provides an overview of the scoping purpose and highlights a list of deliverables and ProjectWise guidelines for document storage. It also gets into detailed information about the scoping expectations including:

  • Triggers for scoping
  • Inputs to scoping
  • Active scoping
  • Outputs of scoping
  • Key questions to be answered by scoping
  • Assets Conditions and features
  • Risks
  • Environmental related risks
  • Investment strategy
  • Practical Design
  • Roles and Responsibility

Project Selection: This phase provides an overview of the STIP.

STIP Adoption: This phase provides an overview of how the STIP is adopted.

Project Development Transition: This phase provides an overview of the transition from the Program Development stage to the Project Development stage. Further, this phase highlights a list of project deliverables and a guide for documentation storage. In addition, this section includes detailed information about project documentation and key steps, including:

  • Project Charter
  • Project Description
  • STIP/Project Key Number
  • ProjectWise
  • Program Request (Expenditure Account request)
  • Financial Responsibility

Project Development contains a detailed statewide framework for the development of a transportation project.

It defines and provides expectations, deliverables and requirements for statewide delivery and begins with the assignment of a project leader, local agency liaison or consultant project manager to a project approved in the STIP.

PD Guidebook CoverUse this link, or the linked image to the left, to access the complete Project Delivery Guidebook.

All of the content listed below can be quickly located by using the "bookmark" tool to the left of the text. This will show a linked index within the document.

Project Initiation and Kick-Off: This phase provides detailed information about how a project is first initiated and includes:

  • Project team
  • Review and confirm project scope
  • Roadway conceptual design
  • Bridge design startup
  • Consultant contracts
  • Intergovernmental agreements
  • Public involvement plan

Project Management Plan: This phase provides detailed information about development of Project Management Plans where standard operating procedures are not being used.

Design Acceptance: This phase provides detailed information about the Design Acceptance milestone, which is a critical decision point that establishes the geometric boundaries of the project footprint and allows for the concurrent right-of-way, permitting, and construction contract document activities to move forward. It contains important task information including:

  • Mobility Strategy and Transportation Management Plan
  • Roadway design
  • Access management
  • Environmental studies
  • Traffic design
  • Bridge and structure design
  • Geo/Hydro design and studies
  • Draft railroad maps
  • Design acceptance review and completion
  • Draft DAP

This phase also includes detailed information about the Design Acceptance milestone deliverables and expectations for document storage.

Permits and Clearances: This phase provides detailed information about what permits and clearances are required for projects in order to meet regulations. It includes information about who is responsible for acquiring the permits and certain tasks involved with obtaining permits and clearances.

  • Permits and clearances list
  • Permits and clearances tasks
  • Categorical exclusion close out documents
  • FHWA review of categorical exclusion

Right of Way: This phase provides detailed information about ROW requirements. Right of entry permits are needed to access property, right of way also provides other real property acquisition related input into development of project design plans. This section includes information about the following:

  • Right of way development
  • Right of way engineering
  • Proposed right of way staking
  • Right of way acquisition
  • Right of way certification
  • Clearing the right of way
  • Railroad maps
  • Railroad right of way purchases and related agreements

Plan Development: This phase provides detailed information about the expectations, requirements and deliverables for Preliminary Plans, Advanced Plans and Final Plans milestones of project development.

Plans, Specifications and Estimates (PS&E): This phase provides a high-level overview of PS&E. The Project Controls Office​ is responsible for facilitating this process and maintains the process and guidance. Please see the Phase Gate Delivery Manual​ for more information.

Advertisement, Bid, and Award: This phase provides a high level overview of the Ad, Bid, and Award phase. Between the Office of Project Letting and the Statewide Construction Office, these processes and guidance’s are maintained by these offices. Please see the Construction Contracting Manual for more information.

Construction Management Transition: This phase provides a high-level overview of construction management transition leading practices. Construction management processes and guidance are maintained by the Statewide Construction office. Please see the Construction Manual for more information.

Common forms and templates used in accordance with the Project Delivery Guidebook.

Please note: Some forms are ODOT-only documents; if you are not an ODOT employee, you will not be able to access these forms.

Visit our YouTube channel to access more than 40 videos from the 2019 Project Delivery Boot Camp.