The Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) project delivery method is an alternative delivery concept that many state highway agencies are interested in using in an effort to improve the deteriorating infrastructure in the United States. The CMGC method is encouraged by the Federal Highway Administration through the Every Day Counts 2 initiative which encourages "better, faster, and smarter" construction. However, many state agencies are just now obtaining the legal authority to use CMGC in their respective states. The main difference between the CMGC method and the traditional method of delivering projects is that the contractor is involved during the preconstruction phase. The main focus of this research is the preconstruction phase of the CMGC delivery method through three research objectives.

First, an agency must want to use the CMGC method to deliver construction projects. Research on the benefits and challenges of implementing the method was conducted to give agencies the knowledge of the process to determine why they should implement the CMGC method into their program. Second, once an agency has decided to use the CMGC method, they need to determine the preconstruction services which will be required of the CMGC contractor during the preconstruction phase. Finally, research was performed for the first time on using an Independent Cost Estimate (ICE) consultant during preconstruction to validate the prices given to the agency by the CMGC contractor and to determine the extent to which the ICE consultant adds value to the CMGC process. Research for this thesis was performed using literature review, content analysis of presentations and solicitation documents, and case studies.

This research found that the main benefit of the CMGC process was the ability to achieve accelerated design and construction schedules and the main challenge was training agency personnel to provide the necessary support to achieve that goal. Furthermore, highway and non-highway agencies alike, find that the design-related and cost-related aspects of the CMGC preconstruction phase add the most value to the process. Finally, it was determined that even though the agency incurs an added cost by involving an ICE consultant, the value added to the project by the knowledge brought by the ICE consultant outweighs the added cost.