List of Sample Projects

Since founding his firm, Tom Warne has had the privilege of working on many interesting and challenging projects. While it is not possible to list all of these engagements, here is a sampling:

Independent Review Committee (IRC), Woodrow Wilson Bridge-Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA)

Tom Warne chaired the Independent Review Committee that the MSHA established after their single bid on the main elements of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge came in over 75% above the engineer’s estimate. In addition to Tom, there were seven other professionals from the transportation industry representing a wide array of skills who made up the IRC. Together they made recommendations for advancing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to final construction. These recommendations included value engineering opportunities, contract modifications, bonding/surety issues, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) issues, project modifications to enhance competition and others. Today, the bids have been received for the complete project and they are currently under the engineer’s estimate.

Chair, Independent Review Committee-San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Retrofit Program-Caltrans

When bids came in over 62% above the engineer’s estimate for the E2/T1 foundation contract Caltrans asked Tom Warne to set up another Independent Review Committee (IRC) to take a critical look at the circumstances of that bid as well as other contracting practices relating to the E2/T1 foundation work and the Self Anchored Suspension Bridge (SAS). The purpose of the IRC was to find ways for increasing competition and moving the remaining major elements of this reconstruction project forward. Recommendations were provided to Caltrans relating to contracting methodologies, specification changes, sequencing, foreign and domestic steel procurement, and other critical areas focused on meeting Caltran’s cost and schedule objectives.

Board of Directors, Kleinfelder, Inc.

Tom Warne was elected to the Board of Directors of Kleinfelder, Inc. in August 2002. As one of two outside board members he provides insight and objective direction at the board level to this very successful geotechnical engineering firm headquartered in San Diego , California .

2010 and Beyond - Hudson Institute, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

The 2010 and Beyond project represents a partnership between the Hudson Institute, AASHTO and APTA bringing the collective financial and other resources of the public and private sectors to develop a vision of the policy issues facing transportation in the future. Tom Warne is the project manager with oversight for the seven research projects that will develop original work in such areas as the global economy, demographic influences on transportation, 21st Century freight mobility, finance, technology and the state DOT’s, technology and the 21st Century vehicle and others. Each of these will result in a stand-alone research product with independent utility for the transportation industry as a whole. In addition, the 2010 and Beyond project will result in two reports; the first will be for AASHTO and will serve as the foundation for their 2004 Strategic Planning process and the second report will aggregate the most significant of the policy recommendations from the research efforts into a single report that will be provided to the respective presidential and congressional candidates and appointed officials across the country.

Chairman, Disputes Review Board - Pasadena Gold Line

As chair of the DRB for this project Tom Warne has been involved in assisting the Authority and the contractor in resolving a number of complex issues that have arisen on a very successful project.

Governor’s Transportation Task Force, Hawaii

Tom Warne was called in to serve as a technical resource to the Governor’s Task Force at the Hawaii Department of Transportation as they considered highway and transit alternatives for the exploding growth that is occurring on the Ewa plain west of Honolulu .

Partnering

Tom Warne is an experienced partnering facilitator and is often called upon to provide his expertise and services on complex highway and transit projects. His background in field construction and at the executive level in state DOT’s, coupled with his facilitation experience, make him a popular and effective partnering facilitator.

South Carolina Partnering Program-South Carolina Department of Transportation and the Carolinas AGC

Tom Warne was invited by the SCDOT and the Carolinas AGC to develop and implement their statewide partnering program. Included were orientation sessions for senior public and private sector management as well as training to industry representatives in all seven districts in the state.

Privatization/Commercial Use of Public Rights of Way - National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) NCHRP Project 20-7 (159)

Tom Warne and Associates was the research contractor responsible for exploring the opportunities for leveraging highway rights of way to the benefit of the public and private sectors. The research report includes a review of the Adopt-a-Highway programs in the states as well as an assessment of what other areas states would like advance as additional privatization efforts to include rest areas and service plazas. Finally, the report provides a snapshot of some of the emerging privatization ideas, both possible and improbable, to show how creative the ideas are for using the rights of way.

Wanted: The Truth - A Response to the Highway Robbery Report-American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)

In 2002, a group of unions representing public employees in a handful of states produced a work entitled, Highway Robbery, which was intended to cast a shadow on the outsourcing practices employed by state departments of transportation (DOT) across the country. ACEC invited Tom Warne to author a response to the Highway Robbery report which they published to provide the truth about outsourcing practices in the states and to correct the spurious allegations and assertions made in the union’s report.

Survey of State DOT Practice: Outsourcing and Private Sector Utilization, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 20-7 (158)

Tom Warne and Associates was the research contractor on a defining study of outsourcing activities within the state DOT’s. Intended to compliment previous NCHRP work on the subject this study provides a summary of the state of the practice of outsourcing among the state DOT’s. The activities sampled included design, operations, maintenance, right of way, construction, and administration. Key among the findings is that states choose to outsource due to staff constraints and the need for specialized skills as opposed to an approach focused solely on cost. This study was published by the Transportation Research Board as NCHRP Synthesis 313.

Public Works, Public Partnerships-Published by the Infrastructure Delivery Council (IDC) an affiliate of the California

Tom Warne and Associates, LLC was contracted to write a promotional document on the contributions of the engineering consulting community to California ’s water, power and transportation infrastructure. Totaling over 85 pages, with pictures and graphics, this document presents a compelling case depicting the private engineering community’s role in making California ’s quality of life what it is today. From the Golden Gate Bridge to local water systems, the private sector has been a major partner with public agencies for over a century.

New CEO Briefings - American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO)

The year 2002 saw the largest change in CEO’s at state DOT’s in the history of AASHTO. In order to assist these new CEO’s in their transition to these new leadership positions, Tom Warne and Associates and its subcontractor, Delcan Inc., were employed by AASHTO to provide comprehensive briefings to many of these new CEO’s. In company with John Horsley, Executive Director of AASHTO, Tom Warne and Dick Mudge presented these briefings to a dozen state CEO’s and their senior staff.

Mid-Jordan Light Rail Spur-Kennecott Land, Salt Lake City , Utah

Tom Warne provides strategic transportation consulting to Kennecott Land on a variety of issues relating to their Daybreak development in South Jordan , Utah . Daybreak is probably the first development in the county that will truly employ all of the principles of “smart growth.” It is a forward thinking project composed of mixed commercial and residential uses with a strong bent towards transit oriented development (TOD). Tom’s work on the Mid-Jordan Light Rail Spur is focused on advancing this project to ensure that its construction timeline matches that of the transportation needs of Daybreak. The objective of his work is to move the project ahead eight years in the schedule.

Project Delivery Review - Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA)

In partnership with the National Constructors Group and Lemley and Associates, Tom Warne and Associates performed a review of OCTA’s project delivery systems including project management processes, quality control, relationship and contractual issues with private engineering firms, contractors and Caltrans. Recommendations included methods for improving project accountability, financial management, staffing and organizational changes and other improvements to OCTA’s transportation program.

Member, Committee on the Transportation of Radioactive Waste, National Academies

Tom was invited to participate as a committee member on this exclusive body of professionals who are charged by the National Academy of Science to provide an objective report on the transportation issues surrounding the movement of radioactive waste from power plants and other repositories to the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada . Issues include casks, transportation modes, public impacts, risk management, environmental issues, and operational concerns.

Trans Texas Corridor-Texas Department of Transportation

As a subcontractor to HNTB, Tom Warne and Associates provides strategic consulting on the key policy issues that face the advancement of this historical effort to build some 4000 miles of new interstate freeways in the state of Texas . Of particular value has been Tom’s work on the agency related issues that face any public entity embarking on such a new and innovative initiative.

Recruiting and Retaining Professional Staff in State Transportation Agencies, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 33-08

Tom Warne and Associates was the principle research contractor for this significant look at what state DOT’s are doing to recruit and then retain their professionals. The study focused on all professionals in a state DOT organization but was particularly insightful on the methodologies used for engineers. Findings included a strong correlation between the factors that originally attracted engineers with those factors that are meaningful for their retention. Significant insights into different programs at the state level were captured with insights into their effectiveness offered.

Ethics in Engineering, Brigham Young University

Each semester Tom Warne is invited by the Civil Engineering Department to teach a session of the senior level class of Ethics in Engineering. Drawing from his nearly 25 years of experience Tom shares “real life” examples of ethical situations that engineers face in their profession. The students always rate Tom’s class as one of the highest of the semester.

Design-Build Orientation and Training

Tom Warne has provided design-build training and orientation in many states as the DOT’s, engineers and contractors move their programs forward. Often there are implementation issues in public agencies that Tom is well equipped to provide guidance on. In addition, Tom’s training is used by engineering consulting firms to orient and equip their employees to work successfully in the design-build environment.

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About Tom

Sample Projects