ARMY AL&T
Background: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) The authors’ presentation of the U.S. case focused on procurement’s role in the execution of the ARAA. Signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009, ARRA provides for a variety of stimulus measures with a potential value of almost $790 billion. It is intended to provide quick and effective stimulus for the economy by injecting financial resources into key sectors. Elements of ARRA include direct cash payments, tax credits and benefits for both individuals and firms, funds for state and local governments to maintain essential health and education programs, and investments in infrastructure.
Procurement plays a key role in ARRA, since grants and contracts are the principal means by which the ARRA funds will be obligated. ARRA gives preference to so-called “shovel-ready” projects; that is, activities that can be started and completed expeditiously. According to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, agen- cies must ensure that public funds are expended responsibly and in a trans- parent manner to further job creation,
economic recovery, and other purposes of the ARRA.
The Port of Oakland Project Since the USACE executes a significant number of construction and infrastruc- ture projects, it provided an excellent example of an ARRA project for pre- sentation at the Lisbon workshop. The specific project, accomplished by the USACE’s San Francisco, CA, District of the South Pacific Division, entailed the acceleration of existing interre- lated projects to improve the Port of Oakland—the second largest port on the West Coast and the fifth largest container port in the Nation—and restore environmentally sensitive wet- lands near Hamilton Airfield several miles north of Oakland.
The deepening project increased the channel depth of the Oakland Harbor and Port berths from 42 feet to 50 feet. At this new depth, the port can accommodate much larger vessels, including a new generation of very large “post-panamax” ships. It also allows for container ships to increase loads by 60 percent.
Approximately 3 million cubic yards of sediment dredged for this project
contributed to environmental enhance- ment and wetland habitat at Hamilton Airfield. The Hamilton Wetlands Restoration Project, currently USACE’s largest restoration project with nearly 2,500 acres of wetlands restoration, holds more than 24 million cubic yards of beneficial reuse dredge mate- rial. Endangered species that will derive protection from this portion of the proj- ect include the clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse. Without this por- tion of the project, the dredged materials would have to be transported to a dis- posal location well out in the Pacific Ocean with substantially higher costs and increased risks (technical, environ- mental, safety, etc.) in several areas.
The project began in 2006 and was originally scheduled to be completed no earlier than December 2011, assuming the project was fully funded. By apply- ing ARRA funds to this “bucket-ready” project, it was modified to accelerate its completion date to January 2010. According to the contractor, a sub- stantial number of jobs were thus saved, and the project was successfully completed months ahead of schedule, thereby allowing for a more rapid real- ization of the economic benefits of the harbor improvements.
In terms of accomplishing ARRA objectives, three major elements of the USACE response are evident in this project:
• Procurement spending (injecting capital into the private sector).
• Improved transportation infrastructure.
• Secondary economic benefits (e.g., growth of San Francisco Bay area commerce).
Challenges and Successes in Execution
Key individuals work on the Oakland-Hamilton contract. From left to right: York So, Civil Engineer, Cost Engi- neering Section; Bick Lee, Civil Engineering Tech, Cost Engineering Section; James Garror, Contract Specialist, Contracting Division; Al Paniccia, Project Manager, Programs and Project Management Division; and Dave Doak, Project Manager, Programs and Project Management Division. (Photo by Brandon Beach, USACE San Francisco District.)
The project was initiated in 2006 when the USACE project manag- er organized a 2-day teambuilding session that included all major
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