Melinda Peters, with the Maryland State Highway Administration, is the Project Director for the InterCounty Connector (ICC) Highway Project. Her presentation will focus on the status, challenges and lessons learned for the ICC project.

Ms. Peters is an innovative and enthusiastic leader who is in charge of a 25-person management team which has the lofty goal of completing the project in late 2011.  Washington Post recently noted that she is one of the youngest women in the Unites States to manage the design and construction of a “major project”, a term reserved for large and complex projects with budgets topping $500 million, according to the FHWA.

The ICC project, currently under construction, will provide an east-west link between Prince George's and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.  The 18.8-mile, 6-lane, limited access, divided highway will connect two major north-south corridors in the Washington, DC metropolitan area: the I-270/I-370 and I-95/US 1 corridors.

Date: The Section meeting will be held on September 28, 2010
Location: Hyatt Regency, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA  22202 [Show map]
Time: 6pm: Registration and networking; 6:45pm: Buffet dinner; 7pm: Presentation. One PDH will be awarded
Metro: Blue/Yellow Line to Crystal City Metro Station

In addition to providing increased mobility to the community, the ICC project is expected to provide a cost-effective transportation infrastructure to serve existing and future development patterns in the area reflecting local land use planning objectives.  The construction of the ICC project has been sensitive to the impacts on natural, human, and cultural environments from past development activities in the project area.  In addition, by providing a major alternative route for mobility in case of emergencies, it enhances homeland security.

The $2.56 billion design-build project is being constructed under five contracts with  three major contracts currently under construction:  Contract A extends from I-270/I370 to Georgia Avenue (MD 97) and is approximately 7.2 miles long; it has three full interchanges.  Contract B is approximately 6.9 miles long and has two full interchanges; it extends from MD 97 to US 29.  Contract C extends from US 29 to I-95 and is approximately 3.8 miles long, there are two full interchanges of the ICC (MD 200) at US 29 and I-95 and a partial interchange for westbound traffic at Briggs Chaney Road. Contracts D and E are still in the development phase.

Best Practices for Dispute Avoidance and Management

The ASCE Construction Institute’s Claims Avoidance and Resolution Committee presents a compendium of the Committee membership’s best practices addressing:

• Constructability Reviews
• Contract Changes Clauses
• Delay Claim Management
• Dispute Resolution Methods
• Panel Discussion: Best way to mitigate claims

Date: October 22, 2010
Location: The Sheraton Hotel in Crystal City
Time: 8am to 5:30pm. Registration (including breakfast) is from 8am to 8:45am. Program starts at 8:45am. Buffet lunch is scheduled tentatively from 12:00pm - 1:00pm.  A total of 5 PDHs will be awarded.
Metro: Blue/Yellow Line to Crystal City Metro Station
Self-parking: The negotiated self parking rate at the Sheraton Hotel in Crystal City is $15 per day. For questions, please contact Fady Afif or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Constructability Reviews: An hour of prevention saves a month of delay.Presenter Ray Jenkins leads us through the committee’s experiences of best practices of Constructability Reviews.

Contract Change Clauses: Using the Engineers Joint Contracts document, presenter Dan Becker of HDR Engineering, Inc. provides best practices of change management contract clauses and considerations.

Delay Claims: Understanding and managing project delays for both the Contractor and the Owner, including a hands-on, practical example. The committee’s aggregated Owner and Contractor experiences, presented by Dennis MacBride of SEPTA and Craig Lindquist of CCS Group Inc.

Dispute Resolution Methods by Chip Ossman, Ossman Project Management Consulting, Inc. An introductory survey to the construction industry's commonly used dispute resolution methods:  Negotiation, Mediation, Dispute Review Boards, Arbitration, and Litigation.

Panel Discussion: Best Ways to Mitigate Claims. Moderated by Harold McKittrick the panel discussion will feature an interactive discussion by the expert panel on the most effective ways of prevention, management and settlement of claims. Panelist include Richard McKim Preston with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Nat Atapoor, P.E., CCM, Director, Construction Management Division, with Fairfax County DPWES, Dan Becker of HDR, and Chip Ossman with Ossman Project Management Consulting, Inc.