08.05.10 -
Salem, OR/Olympia, WA
Governors Christine O. Gregoire and Theodore R. Kulongoski of Washington and Oregon respectively announced the release of the final report of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) they formed in April to review the current status of the $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing Project. The panel was charged to assess three areas of the project: implementation activities, the finance plan and performance measures.
http://crcreview.org/documents/GovernorsPressRelease_073010.pdf
The IRP was comprised of the following individuals:
- Tom Warne, Chairman (Tom Warne and Associates)
- Rodney Brown (Cascadia Law Group)
- E. Robert Ferguson (ERF LLC)
- Dr. Patricia Galloway (Pegasus Global Holdings)
- Diana Mendes (AECOM)
- Dr. Michael Meyer (GA Tech)
- Mary Lou Ralls-Newman (Ralls-Newman)
- Tim Neuman (CH2M Hill)
Administrative support was provided to the panel by Public Knowledge through Jennifer Vachon.
The IRP’s final report provided 30 recommendations to the governors. The recommendations offer a “road map” for the project to progress forward towards construction.
http://crcreview.org/documents/IRP_report.pdf
The panel conducted seven hearings and three community comment meetings and gathered significant information relative to their charge. The major recommendations are:
- Resolve current land use issues and transportation solutions on Hayden Island
- Resolve technical issues relating to the open web design for the Columbia River Crossing
- Complete a variety of NEPA requirements
- Reinvigorate the public involvement process
- Establish a long-term governance structure for the project
First, it was an amazing experience to work with such an amazing group of individuals as found on this panel. Second, the lessons learned from this review have application on many projects throughout the country. The CRC is an important project that must be built. The recommendations provided by the IRP are the most direct route to that end goal. TW
01.19.10 -
Tom Warne was recently invited to provide partnering facilitation services for the on-going work on the Center Hill Dam in Smithville, Tennessee. The owner is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District and the contractor is a Kiewit/ACT, a joint venture. The project has a value of $90 million and includes constructing an 800-foot long grout curtain wall.
01.12.10 -
Tom Warne presented at the 2010 Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC during the session entitled, “Significant Milestones in SHRP 2 Renewal Program and Implementation Plans.” His remarks focused on some of the challenges and barriers to fully utilizing the broad and important products coming out of the SHRP 2 program. In the end, he noted that everyone present (state and federal employees, academia, and the private sector) each had a role in the roll out and implementation of these new and significant products.
12.17.09 -
Tom Warne is now working with Earthwork Solutions, LLC (ESOL) to assist in advancing an engineering breakthrough which greatly reduces construction time, costs & risk for owners, contractors & engineers in the transportation industry. ESOL’s long-sought advance solves a significant problem in the compaction control of earthen fills, which translates into significant economic benefits during construction and after, and remedies the core source of our infrastructure problems in transportation. ESOL’s services are self-verifying in real-time during construction, and enable full engineering & construction control, without changing the objectives or practice of all parties in engineering & construction. See more at www.esol.net.
12.02.09 -
On December 2, 2009 Tom Warne addressed the members of the Idaho Governor’s Task Force on Modernizing Transportation Funding as part of their efforts to assess how best to finance the state’s growing transportation needs. The nearly two-hour presentation included federal funding patterns and prospects, state strategies and a case study on Utah’s transportation finance program.