Miami Intermodal Center—Introducing "CM-At-Risk" to Transportation Construction

The volume of traffic around the Miami International Airport Terminal has been a growing problem for many years. However, due to lack of funding and other issues, a project to relieve the congestion was never possible until now. The Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) will be a world-class multi-modal facility that is estimated to take 15 to 20 years to construct and cost approximately $2.25 billion. MIC incorporates the first transportation project using the "CM-at-Risk" (CMAR) delivery system ever to receive federal funding. All of the work currently scheduled using the CMAR system is slated for Phase I of the project, which is now in progress and is estimated to take five years, costing $1.35 billion. The work to be done using the CMAR delivery system includes the rental car facility, the MIC terminal access roads, and other items, and is estimated to cost $230 to $250 million and be completed in 2007. This paper describes the project, including the logistics of funding and how CMAR works. Since the early portions of Phase I have not been executed in a way to best utilize the strengths of CMAR, it is too early to tell how it is performing when compared to traditional project delivery systems.