Toll bids for bridges project to be redone
The bi-state board overseeing the $2.3 billion Ohio River Bridges Project voted on Friday to restart the toll services bidding process following a protest submitted to and reviewed by the Indiana Finance Authority.
The IFA investigated accusations from TransCore LP, of Nashville, Tenn., one of the contractors who submitted a proposal for the tolls. Although it dismissed TransCore's allegations as unsubstantiated, IFA did find what it considered an organizational and personal conflict of interest between a subcontractor of the preferred proposer and a subcontractor of the joint board's toll advisor that was not disclosed during its initial proposal.
"We recommended, based on our findings of conflict of interest, that the toll services procurement be terminated and restarted," IFA attorney Andy Kienle said moments after the meeting.
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IFA maintains the conflict did not prejudice the decision-making process. In August, the project board and IFA board both gave their initial approvals of a $39.9 million contract with Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS Inc., whose parent company is the Kapsch Group based in Vienna, Austria.
Kapsch, TransCore and other contractors will not be prohibited from bidding on the new contract, project officials said.
"I figured they would make the right decision once they had the information available to them," said TransCore President Tracy Marks. "We look forward to participating again."
The resolution passed unanimously by the project board Friday also calls for it to terminate its contract with Virginia-based Computer Aid Inc. as its toll advisor and appoint Parsons Transportation Group as interim toll advisor. Parsons' parent company is headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., though it has locations in Louisville and Indianapolis, according to its website.
"We will begin transition of the toll services advisor to the joint board immediately and once that process is developed, we will be able to set specific deadlines for the subsequent (toll services) procurement," Kienle said.
Kienle added he expects the new bidding process to happen quicker than the initial request for proposals issued earlier this year.
"We do not anticipate that this action will impact the timeline for beginning tolls on the project," Kienle said.
In September 2013, the tolling body of the board approved initial toll rates of $1 to $12 per trip, depending on the type of vehicle and frequency of use. It also approved an annual toll increase of 2.5 percent or the national inflation rate, whichever is greater.
Project officials have said tolls are expected to remain in place for the duration of the project's financing, starting in 2016.
Indiana finance director Kendra York sent a 15-page response letter to TransCore President Tracy Marks on Friday, telling him the IFA's findings.
The conflict York cited involved ClearStrategy LLC, a subcontractor to previous tolling advisor Computer Aid, and Gude Management Group LLC, a Kaspsch subcontractor. York wrote that she found "TransCore failed to meet its burden of proof," adding the conflict it did find "creates an appearance of impropriety."
Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock, who sits on the five-member project board, maintains it has remained "committed to transparency" throughout the project.
"The issue at hand is a conflict of interest, which has now been removed," Hancock said. "The restart of the toll system provider procurement can now begin, and we will keep the project on schedule."
Kapsch initially was chosen among four companies that submitted final proposals on an overall project scale of up to 1,000 possible points based on contract price and technical aspects.
The bidders were Kapsch, TransCore, Xerox State & Local Solutions Inc. and Sanef Operations America Inc. Brisa Inovacao e Tecnologia S.A. and 3M Co. were pre-qualified to submit a proposal but did not.
Earlier this year, the project board also approved a $1.4 million, five-year contract with Kapsch TrafficCom USA to provide E-ZPass transponders that are compatible with ones used along the East Coast.
Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write.