EVALUATION OF HOUSTON'S TURNKEY EXPERIENCE

This report provides a review and description of Houston METRO's recent experiences with the turnkey procurement process during its attempt to develop the Houston Fixed Guideway Project. Although the Houston Project was eventually canceled for political reasons, it remains a valuable source of information in terms of: selection of the turnkey procurement method, impact on technology selection, selection of the turnkey contractor, contract design, project management and funding, and other aspects of fixed guideway procurement. These lessons learned and the context of the overall turnkey procurement approach are the intended purpose and value of this report. The evaluation methodology used in this study focused mainly on the turnkey process and the turnkey contract. It was designed to provide the reader with a solid understanding of the turnkey project proposed by METRO and the agency's experiences in attempting to execute the project. This case study reviews the comparative differences between the turnkey procurement process and the traditional procurement methods in terms of cost effectiveness, development time, and the introduction of new technologies. Basically, this review of the Houston turnkey experience offers transit agencies: 1) assistance in determining whether or not the turnkey method offers them advantages over a conventional procurement approach, and 2) a real world example of the steps taken and lessons learned by one agency in developing a turnkey procurement.