(1) An efficient transportation system is critical for Arkansas's economy and the quality of life of the state's residents;

(2) Transportation projects are costly and the revenues currently available for highways and local roads are inadequate to preserve and maintain existing infrastructure and to provide funds for highway improvements;

(3) The State Highway Commission is interested in developing an alternative, cost-effective, procurement procedure for transportation projects performed by the commission and the Arkansas Department of Transportation;

(4) Other states have begun to explore the utilization of a construction manager-general contractor method as a cost-effective and efficient option for constructing transportation projects, including the State of California, which applies the construction manager-general contractor method when it is anticipated that the use of the construction manager-general contractor method will reduce transportation project costs or expedite transportation project completion in a manner that is not achievable through the design-bid-build method;

(5) A construction manager-general contractor method allows the commission to engage a construction manager:

(A) To assist during the design and development process of the transportation project, including without limitation to provide input concerning the transportation project's:

(i) Design;

(ii) Scheduling;

(iii) Pricing; and

(iv) Phasing; and

(B) Who may subsequently become the general contractor and construct the transportation project if the parties agree on a guaranteed maximum price; and

(6) The cost-effective benefits are achieved by shifting the liability and risk for cost containment and transportation project scheduling to the construction manager, which leads many states to call this method the "construction manager at-risk method".