CONTENT EXPIRES: December 31, 2028 

In 2023 the state of Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Ford Motor Company collaborated on a site development project that would greatly enhance the economic viability of Marshall, Michigan. The land use for the proposed site was mostly farmland and is surrounded by two interstate freeways, a state trunkline, and a bordering railroad. This made it an ideal location for Ford to build their future BlueOval battery plant. The BlueOval plant construction was on an expedited schedule with production expected to begin in 2026. To facilitate plant operations, significant infrastructure improvements were needed prior to support projected BlueOval travel demand on the interstate and trunkline system. To meet this schedule challenge, MDOT embarked on their first Progressive Design Build (PDB) project. Our panel will discuss the expedited schedule, risk mitigation strategies utilized due to ROW and utility coordination hurdles, price reconciliation, and the advantages to using the PDB contracting method. The PDB Team and Owner have been collaborating closely to design and deliver various work packages and have delivered their commitments to Ford. MDOT panel members will also discuss their experience developing a new contract and deploying the PDB contracting method for internal and industry partners.