Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project's Schedule	 
and Cost as of April 15, 2008 (15-APR-08, GAO-08-677T). 	 
                                                                 
This testimony is based on GAO's review of schedules and	 
financial reports for the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project	 
and related records maintained by AOC and its construction	 
management contractor, Gilbane Building Company; GAO's		 
observations on the progress of work at the CVC construction	 
site; and GAO's discussions with the CVC team (Architect of the  
Capitol (AOC) and its major CVC contractors) and AOC's Chief Fire
Marshal. GAO also reviewed AOC's construction management	 
contractor's periodic schedule assessments, proposed change order
log, and weekly reports on construction progress. In addition,	 
GAO reviewed the contract modifications made to date.		 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-08-677T					        
    ACCNO:   A81679						        
  TITLE:     Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project's    
Schedule and Cost as of April 15, 2008				 
     DATE:   04/15/2008 
  SUBJECT:   Accountability					 
	     Construction contracts				 
	     Contract administration				 
	     Contract modifications				 
	     Cost analysis					 
	     Cost overruns					 
	     Facility construction				 
	     Federal facilities 				 
	     Federal funds					 
	     Future budget projections				 
	     Public visitor-centers				 
	     Risk assessment					 
	     Schedule slippages 				 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     Cost estimates					 
	     Capitol Visitor Center Project			 

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GAO-08-677T

   

     * [1]Construction Is Nearly Complete, but Risks Remain
     * [2]AOC's Cost Estimate Remains the Same, and Additional Funds W
     * [3]Contacts and Acknowledgments

          * [4]Order by Mail or Phone

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Testimony: 

Before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, Committee on 
Appropriations, House of Representatives: 

United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO: 

For Release on Delivery: 
Expected at 1:30 p.m. EDT: 
Tuesday, April 15, 2008: 

Capitol Visitor Center: 

Update on Status of Project's Schedule and Cost as of April 15, 2008: 

Statement of Terrell G. Dorn: 
Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues: 

GAO-08-677T: 

Madam Chair and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to assist the 
Subcommittee in monitoring progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) 
project. My remarks will focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol's 
(AOC) construction progress since the last CVC hearing on March 12, 
2008,[Footnote 1] and (2) the project's expected cost at completion and 
funding status. 

Today's remarks are based on our review of schedules and financial 
reports for the CVC project and related records maintained by AOC and 
its construction management contractor, Gilbane Building Company; our 
observations on the progress of work at the CVC construction site; and 
our discussions with the CVC team (AOC and its major CVC contractors) 
and AOC's Chief Fire Marshal. We also reviewed AOC's construction 
management contractor's periodic schedule assessments, proposed change 
order log, and weekly reports on construction progress. In addition, we 
reviewed the contract modifications made to date. 

Construction Is Nearly Complete, but Risks Remain: 

Since the March 12, 2008, CVC hearing, the project's construction and 
fire alarm acceptance testing have moved forward, and despite continued 
delays in certain CVC and expansion space work, AOC still believes that 
the project will be ready to open in November 2008. According to AOC's 
construction management contractor, in dollar terms, the overall CVC 
project remains 99 percent complete.[Footnote 2] However, risks to the 
project's schedule remain in several time-critical activities, 
including the fire alarm acceptance testing. Many punch list[Footnote 
3] items also remain to be completed, and a steady number of proposed 
change orders have to be resolved. At this time, however, AOC does not 
expect the punch list items or the proposed change orders to affect the 
project's completion date. 

Since the last hearing, work on portions of the project's current 
critical path,[Footnote 4] fire alarm acceptance testing, has 
continued, and no new significant issues have emerged. Issues with the 
fire alarm wiring and smoke exhaust system that we discussed last month 
are being addressed, and AOC does not expect them to delay its receipt 
of a temporary certificate of occupancy for the project, planned for 
July 31, 2008. AOC officials recognize that if equipment for the smoke 
exhaust system is not delivered on time, completion of the acceptance 
testing could be impacted. AOC is investigating ways to mitigate that 
risk by expediting the delivery. 

An updated schedule for March 2008 was not available from AOC to review 
for this hearing. Consequently, it is unclear exactly how much time has 
been lost in less time-critical work in areas such as the East Front, 
the Exhibit Gallery, and the House Hearing Room. Delays in addressing 
items on the project's extensive punch list, which now includes about 
8,800 tasks, pose further risks to the CVC's schedule and call for 
continued prompt attention by AOC and its contractors. For example, 
some fire alarm acceptance testing in the Library of Congress tunnel 
has been delayed pending completion of certain work in the tunnel. 
Moreover, as discussed last month, damage to pavers on the East Front 
plaza has not been repaired. AOC has determined that substantial rework 
may be required to prevent further damage. AOC is investigating but has 
not yet determined how much the rework will cost and who is responsible 
for it. 

Each month, the CVC team continues to identify proposed change orders. 
AOC and its contractors have continued to work together to reduce the 
number of open (outstanding) proposed change orders, but the number of 
open orders has remained essentially unchanged. Sustained attention to 
this issue is needed to reduce uncertainty about the project's costs 
and to avoid risks to the project's schedule as new proposed change 
orders come in. Figure 1 compares the number of outstanding proposed 
change orders with the number settled each month. 

Figure 1: Outstanding and Settled Proposed Change Orders by Month, 
March 2006 through March 2008[A]: 

[See PDF for image] 

This figure is a multiple line graph depicting the following data: 

Date: March 31, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 336; 
PCOs settled this month: 27. 

Date: April 30, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 360; 
PCOs settled this month: 32. 

Date: May 31, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 372; 
PCOs settled this month: 24. 

Date: June 30, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 340; 
PCOs settled this month: 23. 

Date: July 31, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 403; 
PCOs settled this month: 26. 

Date: August 31, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 367; 
PCOs settled this month: 19. 

Date: September 30, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 369; 
PCOs settled this month: 19. 

Date: October 31, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 374; 
PCOs settled this month: 26. 

Date: November 30, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 391; 
PCOs settled this month: 23. 

Date: December 31, 2006; 
Outstanding PCOs: 417; 
PCOs settled this month: 10. 

Date: January 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 445; 
PCOs settled this month: 29. 

Date: February 27, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 456; 
PCOs settled this month: 16. 

Date: March 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 421; 
PCOs settled this month: 28. 

Date: April 30, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 444; 
PCOs settled this month: 28. 

Date: May 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 451; 
PCOs settled this month: 49. 

Date: June 30, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 443; 
PCOs settled this month: 35. 

Date: July 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 437; 
PCOs settled this month: 21. 

Date: August 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 432; 
PCOs settled this month: 54. 

Date: September 30, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 432; 
PCOs settled this month: 33. 

Date: October 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 451; 
PCOs settled this month: 39. 

Date: November 30, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 425; 
PCOs settled this month: 18. 

Date: December 31, 2007; 
Outstanding PCOs: 425; 
PCOs settled this month: 21. 

Date: January 31, 2008; 
Outstanding PCOs: 398; 
PCOs settled this month: 30. 

Date: February 29, 2008; 
Outstanding PCOs: 413; 
PCOs settled this month: 42. 

Date: March 27, 2008; 
Outstanding PCOs: 385; 
PCOs settled this month: 38. 

Source: AOC's construction management contractor. 

[A] The most current proposed change order data were complete through 
March 27 rather than through the last day of the month, as for the 
previous months. 

[End of figure] 

AOC's Cost Estimate Remains the Same, and Additional Funds Will Be 
Needed: 

Since the last hearing, AOC has reviewed its estimate of the CVC's cost 
at completion. While some line item costs have increased or decreased, 
the bottom line estimate of about $621 million remains the same as we 
reported in September 2007. We believe this estimate is realistic and 
contains a sufficient allowance for contingencies, provided there are 
no unexpected delays over the next three months, when construction is 
scheduled to be complete. To date, about $569.5 million has been 
approved for CVC construction, and AOC has $16.2 million more in fiscal 
year 2008 CVC appropriations that it plans to use for construction 
after it obtains congressional approval to obligate these 
funds.[Footnote 5] In addition, AOC has estimated that it will still 
need an additional $2.6 million in fiscal year 2008 to fund CVC 
construction. Furthermore, AOC has requested $31.1 million in fiscal 
year 2009 funds for CVC construction. Given its current cost-to-
complete estimate, AOC may need an additional $2 million in fiscal year 
2009 to complete the project. 

Madam Chair, this completes my prepared statement. I would be pleased 
to answer any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee may 
have. 

Contacts and Acknowledgments: 

For further information about this testimony, please contact Terrell 
Dorn on (202) 512-6923 or [email protected]. Other key contributors to this 
testimony include Shirley Abel, Michael Armes, Lindsay Bach, Maria 
Edelstein, Elizabeth Eisenstadt, Jeanette Franzel, Jackie Hamilton, 
Kara Patton, and Joshua Ormond. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] GAO, Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project's Schedule 
and Cost as of March 12, 2008, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-
bin/getrpt?GAO-08-545T] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 12, 2008). 

[2] In other words, the sequence 2 contractor has received about 99 
percent of the current contract value. This value does not include the 
costs of unsettled proposed change orders, potential claims, and work 
performed outside the current Sequence 2 contract, such as the fire 
marshal's fire alarm acceptance testing. 

[3] A punch list identifies tasks, usually minor, to be completed at 
the end of a project. 

[4] The critical path is the single longest path of activities through 
a project's schedule. Each day of delay in the critical path could 
delay the completion of the entire project. 

[5] For fiscal year 2008, AOC received $28,753,000 (before rescission) 
in appropriations for the CVC project. Pub. L. No. 110-161. Of that 
amount, AOC is allowed, but not required, to use up to $8.5 million for 
operations. AOC is currently planning to use the $8.5 million for 
operations. 

[End of section] 

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