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Alaska DOT shares 12‑month tentative advertising schedule and confidence ratings for upcoming projects
Summary
At a May 13 Senate Transportation Committee briefing, Alaska Department of Transportation officials outlined the agency's tentative advertising schedule (TAS), explained a color-coded confidence scale used to communicate delivery risk to contractors, and described expanded regular briefings with the contracting community.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on May 13 told the Senate Transportation Committee it is publishing a 12‑month tentative advertising schedule and using a color‑coded “confidence” system to show which projects are most likely to be advertised on time.
The TAS, officials said, lists projects by region that the department expects to advertise in the next 12 months; projects drop off the list when advertised and new projects appear as they move into the 12‑month window. Kirk Miller, South Coast region preconstruction engineer, described the TAS to the committee: "The TAS is a list of projects organized by region anticipated to advertise in the next 12 months." He said the sheet is public and closely watched by contractors.
DOT gave the committee context for why dates change and how the confidence coding works. The office uses green, yellow and red markers to indicate relative likelihood of meeting an advertised month: green for high confidence, yellow for some risk, and red for higher risk or incomplete preconditions. Miller said South Coast currently shows 28 projects on its TAS, representing roughly $150 million to $280 million in anticipated construction contract awards over the next 12 months.
Department staff emphasized they are sharing the same slide set and confidence information with AGC (the contracting community) that they presented to the committee. "What we're providing you in slides is what we have provided to AGC," said Andy Mills, special assistant and legislative liaison for DOT. Mills and regional preconstruction engineers said the department has increased the cadence of meetings and briefings with contractors: weekly internal check‑ins among preconstruction, project delivery and federal aid staff, and a monthly public Zoom the contracting community attends.
Central and Northern region staff gave similar format briefings during the hearing, using the same confidence columns and highlighting critical‑path items (environmental clearance, right‑of‑way, utilities). Luke Boland, Central Region preconstruction engineer, said Central Region was able to advertise several paving and preservation projects since late February and that the region is attempting to “front‑load” work where right‑of‑way and utility risks are low. Albert (Al) Beck, Northern Region preconstruction engineer, told the committee that Northern Region had accelerated several projects to provide contractors earlier opportunities to bid.
Committee members asked for historical context and comparisons among regions. Staff said project mixes and delivery challenges vary year to year and by project type (airports, highways, marine), so a direct apples‑to‑apples year‑to‑year comparison is not straightforward. The department said it will continue to refine the content it shares with AGC and is open to adopting additional metrics to increase transparency.
The committee and DOT staff said they expect to continue these updates; Senate Transportation scheduled its next meeting for May 15.
