New bridge for the St. Lawrence corridor owner's engineer

Table of contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Technical advisory services requirement
• 3. Attestation of assurance
• 4. Methodology
  • 4.1 Fairness Monitor activities and observations related to the request for proposal phase
  • 4.2 Fairness Monitor activities and observations related to the request for proposal evaluation phase
• 5. reference documents

1. Introduction

Samson & Associates was engaged as a Fairness Monitor (FM) to observe the competitive selection process for technical advisory services to oversee the design, construction of the New Bridge for the St. Lawrence Corridor (NBSLC) Project work in Montreal, Quebec, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) as a result of solicitation QA002-142712/A. Samson & Associates is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities. We had full access to all aspects of the procurement process and co-operation from all stakeholders at PWGSC.

We hereby submit the Final Report, covering the activities of the FM, commencing with the Request for Proposals (RFP) posting and continuing through to the conclusion of the RFP evaluation phase.

This report includes our attestation of assurance, a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment, the methodologies applied and relevant observations from the activities undertaken.

2. Owner's engineer requirement

On October 5, 2011, the Government of Canada announced that it will proceed with the construction of a new crossing to replace the Champlain Bridge and associated highway infrastructure. The NBSLC Project is a corridor-wide project located between the Island of Montreal and the City of Brossard.  In addition to the main bridge, namely the New Bridge for the St. Lawrence, the NBSLC will include work on the South Shore, the Island of Montreal, Nuns' Island (Île des Sœurs or IdS) and the demolition and reconstruction of the Île des Sœurs Bridge.

The NBSLC Project includes the design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation (including life cycle refurbishment and toll installation and collection). The NBSLC Project covers approximately 8 km of highway. At its western extent, it begins near Pitt Street between the De la Vérendrye and Atwater Interchanges on the Island of Montréal. The NBSLC Project follows the existing A15 across the Île des Sœurs Bridge, passes through the northern part of IdS, and then crosses the St. Lawrence River just downstream of the existing Champlain Bridge to end, at its eastern extent, near Boulevard Pelletier in the City of Brossard.

The NBSLC Project will be delivered through a public-private partnership (PPP) to design, build, maintain and operate the new crossing over the St. Lawrence River.

The services of a consulting firm is required to assist Infrastructure Canada in meeting its responsibilities to bring the NBSLC Project through the detailed design and construction periods and the first year of the Operations, Maintenance and Rehabilitation Period which will commence after the total design-build Period has been completed.

The successful bidder will assist Infrastructure Canada with owner's engineer to oversee the design, construction of the work (scheduled to be carried out until late 2020) as well as the Operation, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of the facilities for the first year, including project management support, technical engineering support, coordination assistance with other neighbouring projects and other tasks as may be needed and determined by Canada.

3. Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for owner's engineer to oversee the design, construction of the New Bridge for the St. Lawrence Corridor Project work in Montreal, Quebec, commencing with the RFP posting and continuing through to the conclusion of the RFP evaluation phase.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive selection process for the above activities we observed, was carried out in a fair open and transparent manner.

4. Methodology

Samson & Associates was engaged as a FM to observe the competitive selection process for owner's engineer to oversee the design, construction of the NBSLC Project work in Montreal, Quebec, and to attest to the fairness, openness and transparency of this monitored activity.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, and observed bid solicitation activities (e.g., RFP, the respective questions and responses, and the RFP evaluation), identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities, and ensuring that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

4.1 Fairness Monitoring activities and observations related to the request for proposal phase

The RFP was posted via buyandsell.gc.ca on October 21, 2014 and closed December 2, 2014.

Questions from the potential bidders were accepted and answers were addressed and distributed via buyandsell.gc.ca prior to the closing date. The FM reviewed all questions and answers provided during the RFP period to ensure fairness-related considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

On October 30, 2014, a bidders' conference was held via video conference which the FM participated into.

At the close of the RFP, four (4) amendments were communicated as a result of questions from potential proponents and requested clarifications.

Observation: Questions arising during the RFP phase and the potential bidders' meeting were handled in accordance with the terms of the RFP and responses were clear, understandable and communicated to all vendors in a timely fashion. All fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

4.2 Fairness Monitoring activities and observations related to the request for proposal evaluation phase

The FM has reviewed the evaluation plan and framework, scorecards and summary consensus of the evaluators. The evaluation of bids in this phase consisted of the review of the documentation submitted by the bidders.

An information session for the technical evaluation team attended by the contracting authority and the FM was held on December 4, 2014. The evaluation of the technical bids began on December 11, 2014. The three technical evaluators attended the consensus meetings and so did the contracting authority and FM. The consensus meetings were completed on December 18, 2014.

No contentious issues from a fairness point of view have been identified.

Observation: The instructions and tools of the evaluators were complete, respected the terms of the RFP and were consistent with the principles and practices of fairness, and they were executed fairly. Evaluation criteria, weighting, points and passing notes complied fully with what had been established in the RFP. The evaluation was performed as described by the RFP. The scoring was performed in strict accordance with the criteria. Consensus discussions were open, all evaluators were present, and a consensus was reached for all the criteria.

5. Reference documents

The following documents referenced by number in this report and unless otherwise indicated, are all available through PWGSC.

Table Summary

The following table includes a list of documents referred to in the report such as the Request for Proposal (RFP), amendments, clarification letters, debriefing letters, etc. Each row is numbered, followed by the document title, then a document identifier such as a date or document number.

No.	Document	Date
1	RFP published	Published on buyandsell.gc.ca on October 23, 2014
2	Bidders' Meeting	Video Conference held on October 30, 2014
3	Amendment #1	Published on buyandsell.gc.ca on November 17, 2014
4	Amendment #2	Published on buyandsell.gc.ca on November 17, 2014
5	Amendment #3	Published on buyandsell.gc.ca on November 21, 2014
6	Amendment #4	Published on buyandsell.gc.ca on November 26, 2014
7	RFP Bid Evaluation Plan and Technical Evaluation Worksheet	Distributed internally by email on December 4, 2014

Addendum to the final report
March 29, 2015

Addendum to fairness monitor final report dated January 18, 2015 on the competitive selection process for owner's engineer services to oversee the design and construction of the new bridge for the St. Lawrence corridor in Montreal, Quebec.

This Addendum to the FM Final Report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase.

Fairness Monitoring Activities related to contract award and debriefings

There were two bids submitted in response to the Request for Proposal. The successful bidder was announced on February 20, 2015.

A debriefing meeting was requested by a non-successful bidder. The meeting, attended by the contracting authority and the FM was held on March 25, 2015 in Montreal, Quebec.

Fairness Monitoring Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the owner's engineer services.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive selection process we observed, was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.