For example, wall stone  installation work has continued in the great hall, the orientation theaters,  and the auditorium, and the number of stone masons working in the  interior of the CVC has increased since mid August. On the other hand, between the Subcommittee’s September 15 hearing and  October 12, the sequence 2 contractor completed work on only 3 of the 11  activities we and AOC have been tracking for the Subcommittee. Furthermore, additional delays have occurred on interior and exterior  stonework installation, the East Front, the utility tunnel, and the House  connector tunnel. However, these  changes have not yet been fully evaluated. AOC and its construction  management contractor are reviewing the changes, as is AOC’s Chief Fire  Marshal. AOC and its construction management contractor believe it will  take about 30 to 60 days to complete their assessments, and AOC’s Chief  Fire Marshal believes that he may have his evaluation done before the end  of October. According to AOC, it has not yet completed this evaluation. Our reasons  for concern include the uncertainty associated with the September  changes in the HVAC commissioning and fire protection system schedules  that have not yet been fully reviewed, the schedule slippages to date,  optimistic durations for a number of activities based on the views of CVC  team members, the large number of activity paths that are critical, and  risks and uncertainties that continue to face the project. AOC agreed that these issues are  important and said it would discuss them with its construction  management contractor. 1. Evolving design: The CVC’s fire protection system has undergone a  number of design changes and has been the subject of debate among  relevant stakeholders for a number of reasons, largely due to conflicts  between security and life and fire safety requirements. On October 5, we attended meetings of representatives from  the CVC project team, AOC’s Fire Marshal Division, and USCP where  issues surrounding the CVC’s fire protection system were discussed. Based on those discussions and information subsequently provided by  AOC and USCP, it appears to us that the design of the CVC’s fire  protection system is now essentially complete and agreed to by all of  the relevant stakeholders. 2. Increased cost: As of September 30, executed contract modifications  and anticipated changes related to CVC’s fire protection system totaled  about $5.3 million, with most of this amount, about $4.4 million, being  estimated costs for anticipated changes that have not been fully  evaluated or approved. Changes to the system’s design and scope  already made have resulted in about $900,000 in cost increases. Costs  for changes that have been made or that are anticipated have increased  or are expected to increase for several reasons, but the bulk of the  increases stems largely from two factors—changes requested by AOC’s  Chief Fire Marshal aimed at ensuring that the system meets fire safety  standards based on his interpretation of code requirements (an area  where conflict existed between fire safety and security requirements)  and a disagreement between AOC and a contractor on contract  requirements regarding certain detection devices. Differences of opinion among CVC team members exist on the  magnitude of the estimated costs for this change. We have discussed  this issue with AOC, and it has agreed to fully evaluate the cost before  it executes additional contract modifications relating to stair  pressurization. Coordination problems: The CVC project team and AOC’ s Fire  Marshal Division have been experiencing difficulties arranging for  timely inspections of completed work due to coordination problems  involving the amount of notice and documentation needed before  inspections can occur. Our Project Cost Estimate Update Awaits Assessment of Consultant Estimate and Schedule Stabilization; Funding Provided Has Not Changed Since September 2005

AOC’s consultant—MBP—finished its work last week to update the  estimated cost to complete the project. We have not yet had time to  evaluate MBP’s report. Also, as we said during the Subcommittee’s  September 15 CVC hearing, we are waiting for the project schedule to  stabilize before we begin our work to comprehensively update our  November 2004 estimate of the cost to complete the project. Thus, we are  not revising our interim updated estimated cost to complete the project of  between $525.6 million and about $559 million that we discussed at the  Subcommittee’s September 15 CVC hearing. As soon as we evaluate MBP’s  report and the project schedule stabilizes, we will begin our work to  assess the reasonableness of the scheduled completion dates for the CVC  and the House and Senate expansion spaces and comprehensively update  our estimate of the cost to complete the project. No additional funding beyond the $527.9 million for construction and the  $7.8 million that was available for CVC construction or operations has  been provided for the project since the Subcommittee’s September 15  hearing.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO testified before Congress on the progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project. Our remarks will focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) progress in managing the project's schedule since Congress's September 15 hearing on the project, (2) issues associated with the CVC's fire protection system, and (3) the project's costs and funding. Our ability to fully address these issues is limited by two important factors. First, AOC's sequence 2 construction contractor's--Manhattan Construction Company--September 2005 schedule reflects a number of significant changes, and AOC has not yet had the opportunity to fully evaluate these changes. Second, neither AOC nor its construction management contractor--Gilbane Building Company--has completed the evaluation of elements of the project schedule that we recommended during Congress's September 15 hearing. Thus, while we will discuss the schedule's status, we will not be able to provide specific estimated completion dates until AOC and its construction management contractor complete their assessments and we have the opportunity to evaluate them. Similarly, while we will discuss the status of the project's costs and funding, we will wait until the project schedule is fully reviewed and stabilized and we have had an opportunity to evaluate AOC's consultant's, McDonough Bolyard Peck (MBP), cost-estimation work before we comprehensively update our November 2004 estimate of the cost to complete the project.

What GAO Found

AOC and its construction contractors have made progress in managing the schedule and accomplishing work since Congress's September 15 CVC hearing, but additional delays have been encountered. Work on all interior levels of the CVC, various sections of the House and Senate expansion spaces, the plaza, and the utility tunnel has continued. However, additional delays have occurred in a number of areas. For example, despite an increase in the number of stone masons working on the project in September, the project lost about 2 weeks on interior stone work installation and a similar amount of time on the utility tunnel. The design of the CVC's fire protection system has undergone a number of changes--largely to reconcile conflicts between security and life and fire safety requirements--and in a number of instances has been the focus of considerable debate among stakeholders (e.g. CVC project team members, AOC's Chief Fire Marshal and AOC fire protection engineers, and USCP representatives). Changes to the system's design and scope have resulted in about $900,000 in cost increases so far and could result in additional increased costs of about $4.4 million based on anticipated changes as of September 30, 2005. The bulk of the potential $5.3 million cost increase stems from two factors--a change in the manner smoke will be kept from egress stairwells that was requested by AOC's Chief Fire Marshal and agreed to by the stakeholders and which resolves a conflict between security and life and fire safety requirements, and a disagreement between AOC and a contractor over contract requirements for certain detection devices. The increased cost figure could change significantly, however, because some CVC project team members believe that the estimated costs for these changes are too high, costs for all proposed or anticipated changes have not yet been fully evaluated, and negotiations relative to the estimated $4.4 million in anticipated changes have not been completed. We have discussed the costs associated with the stairwell change with AOC, and it has agreed to fully evaluate the situation before it executes any additional contract modifications for this change. Based on our discussions with the CVC project team, AOC's Chief Fire Marshal, and USCP representatives, it appears that the fire protection system design is now essentially complete and agreed to by all the stakeholders. Finally, coordination problems have existed between the CVC project team and AOC's Chief Fire Marshall in arranging for inspections of completed work, but steps are being taken to resolve the problems. We have not updated our interim estimate of a cost of between $525.6 million and about $559 million to complete the project, which we reported at Congress's September 15 CVC hearing, because AOC's consultant just completed its updated cost estimate and we have not yet had the opportunity to evaluate it, and because the project schedule has not yet stabilized. As soon as we evaluate MBP's report and the project schedule stabilizes, we will begin our work to reassess the reasonableness of project completion dates and comprehensively update our cost-tocomplete estimate. No additional funding beyond the $527.9 million for CVC construction and the $7.8 million that remained available for CVC operations or construction that we reported at Congerss's last CVC hearing has been provided for the CVC.