Florida Department of

TRANSPORTATION

Production Support

The purpose of the Project Concept Report (PCR) is to clearly identify the complete project scope and to establish a realistic budget and schedule.
Projects on which concept reports are prepared usually originate from one of the following offices, Traffic Operations, Safety, and Drainage or from the Pavement Condition Survey that is developed by the District Material Office. However, projects may be initiated by any office or organization. The office that initiates the project is referred to as the Originating Office.

The primary information sources used in developing PCR's are old plans, straight line diagrams, field reviews, public and private meetings, Originating Office and the Scope Input Offices within the Districts. Each heading in the PCR template includes, in italics, the most common sources of the information needed for that section.

The Scope Input Offices within the FDOT Districts may include the following offices: Planning, Design (Roadway, Structures, Pavement, Lighting, Signals, Signing & Pavement Markings, Utilities and Drainage), Permits, Traffic Operations, Safety, Rail, Maintenance, Survey, Geotechnical, Right of Way and Construction.

The Project Concept Report Template described provides a comprehensive list of project features and elements that should be addressed on all projects when preparing a report. While many of the items shown in the template may not be applicable to your particular project, the report should make note of that fact, rather than just deleting that section. This will document that all items were considered and addressed.

When there is a need identified to update or correct items or features on the project, the district should include that information in the PCR and made ever effort to include the work in the project. Sometimes decisions are made to exclude certain work on the project due to limited funding or there maybe another project in the work program that will address the problem. These decisions should also be recorded in the project's PCR.

By addressing every item in the PCR template, you will document that all aspects of the project were considered. If an item is being included in the project the report should detail the existing conditions and the proposed solution(s). If a template item does not occur on your project that should be stated in the report. If a template item needs addressing and a decision is made to address it later or on another project, that information should also be noted.

As the research and review of the project progresses, public and private meetings should be held to distribute information and to receive comments. These meetings will help identify stakeholders and their issues, provide the needs of the property owners and facility users and hopefully built momentum for the project. Minutes from these meeting and any commitments made should be included in the report.

PCR's should be developed on all non-PD&E projects. These are generally RRR, Safety, Drainage and Intersection Improvement Projects. PCR's may also be developed, by some Districts, on projects with a PD&E phase. These reports are of paramount importance in the development and delivery of the District's Work Program and serve as the basis for the scope of services for the project's PD&E or design phase.

They should be created within three to four months of project initiation by a cross-functional team of senior engineers from all disciplines involved in the project. It is also very important that all PCR's are completed prior to Work Program development in October of each year.

In addition to documenting the complete scope of the project's work, cost and schedule, PCR's also document all decisions and commitments made on the project.

Below is a general schedule that will insure the completion of PCRs prior to the development of the District's Work Program each year.

• May - Begin reviewing the list of potential projects, from prioritized pavement surveys, safety and traffic operations. Collect project specific data, and develop the Field Review/Concept Development schedule.
• June/July - Conduct the candidate project field reviews with the appropriate staff. ADA surveys are conducted.
• August - Draft Concept Reports are written based on the field review minutes, collected data, and received comments.
• September - Scoping Meetings are held with Department Functional Area Representatives. Project needs and desires are discussed. "Optional Improvements" are discussed and included or omitted. LREs are updated based on these decisions.
• October - Work Program office builds the work program based on the finalized cost estimates.
• November/December - Concepts are finalized for the loaded projects. Additional scoping meetings are held to establish scope items such as work groups for advertising consultant projects, project groupings, and in-house responsibilities.
• December thru April - The Final Concepts are used to prepare the Scopes of Service in advance advertising each project.

During the development of the PCR Template there were several "Best Practice" ideas that were shared by the Districts. Below is a summary of those lessons learned.

• Before and during the development of the report, the team should look at adjacent projects, intersections and other roadway features outside the original project limits that could be added to or combined with the project. Often this will provide a safer or more economical facility while being less disruptive to the adjacent property owners and road users.
   
• Investigate and identify potential projects adjacent to or within the project limits which may affect the project. Any coordination with adjacent projects, either FDOT or other agency, should be noted in the report.
   
• Maintenance of Traffic issues (including bike/ped), special events, evacuation route and seasonal traffic fluctuations should be noted and addressed.
   
• All commitments and project issues with the project stakeholders should be included.
   
• Context Sensitive Solutions or Transportation Design for Livable Communities should be considered in the design recommendations for the project.
   
• Develop distribution list for all internal communication on projects.
   
• Maintain good generic copy of all types of PCR's
   
• Maintain generic letters to Cities, Counties, MPO's, etc.
   
• Make sure State and District Policy on signal replacements, signs and lighting are followed.
   
• Maintain scope history report in Project Suite. (District 4)
   
• Pavement deformations need to be documented and identified for further analysis by the appropriate office. Also, corresponding dollar value for the fix should be placed in the initial LRE.

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