	AOC Has Moved Construction Forward, Revised the Project’s Schedule, and Postponed Opening Dates

AOC and the CVC team have continued to refine the project’s schedule  since the November hearing and have made substantive progress in  addressing the issues that we and the Subcommittee have raised,  particularly concerning the base project’s schedule. To reflect the results of its review,  the team revised the project’s December 2005 and January 2006 schedules,  and in collaboration with the team that is planning for CVC operations,  enhanced the manner in which the operations activities are incorporated  into the project’s master schedule. According to AOC’s December 2005 and January 2006 schedules, the CVC  base project will be ready to open to the public with a temporary  certificate of occupancy on February 13, 2007, and the House and Senate  expansion spaces will be ready on April 24, 2007. To allow for possible  delays and start-up time for operations, AOC has proposed an April 2007  opening date for the base project and a May 2007 occupancy date for the  expansion spaces. The additional time AOC says is necessary for operations  preparation after construction completion would mean that the CVC  would be ready for opening with a temporary cap on visitor occupancy by  about the end of May 2007, according to our analysis. We believe the later time frames are more likely because (1)  AOC has scheduled the acceptance testing of the expansion spaces after  the acceptance testing of the base project and, according to our work, the  base project testing will take longer than scheduled and (2) AOC’s Chief  Fire Marshal believes that the acceptance testing of the expansion spaces  will take longer than scheduled. We have discussed the results of our analysis with AOC, and it continues  to believe that it will be able to meet its April and May 2007 time frames  for the CVC and the expansion spaces, respectively. However, we also believe that AOC will be challenged to meet  even the later opening dates we have identified given the problems,  challenges, risks, and uncertainties the project faces. Complex building systems remain a significant risk. Estimated Project Costs Exceed Funding Provided as of February 2006

We currently estimate that the total cost to complete the entire CVC  project is about $555 million without an allowance for risks and  uncertainties and could be as much as about $584 million with such an  allowance. This $12 million increase is largely  attributable to additional    delay costs estimated by AOC’s construction management contractor and    actual and anticipated changes in the design and scope of the project. In particular, changes in the project’s fire protection system, which we  discussed at the Subcommittee’s October 18, 2005, CVC hearing, are now  expected to cost more than previously estimated. We now estimate that the total cost to complete the entire project with an  allowance for risks and uncertainties could be as much as $584 million, or  about $25 million more than we estimated in November 2005. To date, about $528 million has been provided for CVC construction. This request was based, in part, on  discussions with us and took into account our November 16, 2005,  estimate of the cost to complete the project’s construction without an  allowance for risks and uncertainties and funding from existing  appropriations. Estimated Construction Costs for Library of Congress Tunnel Close to, but under, Limit

Public Law 108-83 limits to $10 million the amount of federal funds that  can be obligated or expended for the construction of the tunnel  connecting the CVC with the Library of Congress. AOC’s remaining estimated  costs are for potential changes.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO testified before the Senate Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations to provide the results of a risk-based analysis of schedule and cost for the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). Our remarks focused on (1) our assessment of the risks associated with the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) December 2005 schedule, and our estimate of a time frame for opening the project to the public; and (2) the project's costs and funding, including the potential impact of scheduling issues that have arisen since the Subcommittee's November 16, 2005, hearing on the CVC project's schedule and cost.

What GAO Found

Since the Subcommittee's November 16 CVC hearing, AOC and the CVC team have moved the project's construction forward and significantly revised the schedule, particularly for the base project. For example, they have reached agreement with AOC's Chief Fire Marshal on the schedule for testing the base project's life safety systems and have enhanced the manner in which the project's operations schedule is incorporated into the project's master schedule. In addition, they have reviewed and revised the schedule, postponing the opening dates for the CVC and the House and Senate expansion spaces by about 2 months each. Under AOC's revised schedule, the CVC would be open to the public in February 2007 with a temporary cap on visitor occupancy, and the expansion spaces would be open in April 2007. However, to allow for possible delays and start-up time for operations, AOC is proposing to open the CVC in April 2007 and the expansion spaces in May 2007, at which time the temporary cap on CVC occupancy would be lifted. We concur with AOC about the need for postponing the opening dates, but do not believe that AOC has scheduled enough time to complete several of the project's critical tasks and to address the problems, challenges, risks, and uncertainties that AOC and the CVC team are attempting to address. If they are successful in addressing these issues, we believe that the CVC can be opened to the public with the temporary cap on visitor occupancy in May 2007 and that the expansion spaces can be opened beginning in mid-August to early September 2007. Congress may be able to begin occupying the expansion spaces earlier if AOC implements a phased opening plan it is considering. However, if AOC experiences major problems completing construction, such as with installing interior stone or testing major building systems, the work could be finished even later than we have estimated. According to our current estimate, the total estimated cost to complete the entire CVC project is about $555 million without an allowance for risks and uncertainties. This estimate exceeds our November 16, 2005, estimate by about $12 million because we and AOC's construction management contractor are now projecting further delay-related costs. Changes in the project's design and scope have also been occurring, and more are likely. For example, the project's fire protection system has been evolving, and the system is now expected to cost more than previously estimated. To date, about $528 million has been provided for CVC construction. Thus, we now estimate that another $25.6 million will be needed to complete construction without an allowance for risks and uncertainties and taking into account funding from existing appropriations that AOC is planning to use. With an allowance for risks and uncertainties, we now estimate that the project could cost as much as about $584 million at completion, or about $25 million more than we estimated in November 2005. Estimated costs for the tunnel connecting the CVC with the Library of Congress are still within, but are now approaching, the $10 million statutorily mandated limit.