United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on the 

Legislative Branch, Committee on 

Appropriations, House of Representatives

CAPITOL VISITOR 

CENTER 

Update on Status of 

Project’s Schedule and Cost 

as of March 13, 2007 

Statement of Terrell G. Dorn, Director

Physical Infrastructure Issues 

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT 

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

 

GAO-07-601T 
Madam Chair and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to assist the Subcommittee in 

monitoring progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project. My 

remarks will focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol’s (AOC) construction 

progress since the last CVC hearing on February 16, 2007; and (2) the 

project’s expected cost at completion and funding status.1

Today’s remarks are based on our review of schedules and financial 

reports for the CVC project and related records maintained by AOC and its 

construction management contractor, Gilbane Building Company; our 

observations on the progress of work at the CVC construction site; and our 

discussions with the CVC team (AOC and its major CVC contractors), 

AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal, and representatives from the U.S. Capitol 

Police. We also reviewed AOC’s construction management contractor’s 

periodic schedule assessments, potential change order log, and weekly 

reports on the progress of interior wall and floor stone installation. In 

addition, we reviewed the contract modifications made to date. 

At the last CVC hearing, we reported that our assessment of the project’s 

schedule and expected cost at completion was still somewhat constrained 

because the CVC team was analyzing the impact on the project’s schedule 

and cost of recently identified changes required for certain components of 

the fire protection and security systems. The impact of these changes on

the project is still not fully known. Therefore, we could not thoroughly 

assess the project’s schedule or estimated cost at completion and are 

basing our views on the information available as of March 6, 2007, 

recognizing our views could change as more information on the impact of 

these changes becomes available. 

Since the February 16, 2007, CVC hearing, the CVC team has continued to

move the project’s construction forward, but work in a number of 

important areas has been delayed. According to AOC’s construction 

management contractor, there were no delays in the critical path last 

month, but all of the project’s 17 near-critical paths lost time,2

 including 8 

In Summary 

 1

GAO, Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project’s Schedule and Cost As of 

February 16, 2007, GA0-07-507T (Washington, D.C.: Feb, 16, 2007). 

2

The critical path is the single longest path of activities through a project’s schedule. Each

day of delay in the critical path could delay the completion of the entire project. Nearcritical paths are the next longest paths through the project’s schedule. 

Page 1 GAO-07-601T 
paths that lost a month or more. The CVC team has made progress on the 

project’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system; interior 

floor stone and ceiling installation; and other interior and exterior 

construction work. As noted at the last hearing, problems and uncertainty 

associated with the project’s most critical activity—the fire protection 

system—are leading AOC to re-examine the project’s schedule. AOC is 

considering adding time for further pretesting of major building systems, 

risks and uncertainties, and operations preparation. According to AOC, it 

anticipates that this additional time would likely move the dates for 

completing the CVC’s construction to the spring of 2008 and for opening 

the CVC to the public to the summer of 2008. AOC expects to have more 

specific dates when it completes its schedule reassessment. In addition, 

problems with other important activities, including work on the East Front 

and the exhibit gallery, have not yet affected the project’s completion date,

but could do so in the future. The project also continues to face risks and 

uncertainties that could affect its progress, especially risks associated with

the final testing of its major building systems, which is not scheduled to 

begin until July 2007, according to the project’s most recent schedule, 

dated January 2007. 

As we reported at the February CVC hearing, we roughly estimate that the 

total cost of the entire CVC project at completion is likely to be about $592 

million without an allowance for risks and uncertainties and over $600 

million with such an allowance. We have not updated our estimate of the 

project’s cost at completion with an allowance for risks and uncertainties.

To date, about $538.4 million has been approved for CVC construction, 

including about $7.4 million in fiscal year 2007 appropriations. In fiscal 

year 2007, AOC has received an additional appropriated amount of $36.4 

million for the CVC project, which AOC has not yet received approval to 

obligate. AOC has not indicated how much of the additional money is 

needed for construction or operations. AOC has also requested $20 million 

in fiscal year 2008 CVC construction appropriations to cover remaining 

costs, and we estimate that AOC may need further appropriations in future 

fiscal years for construction changes and claims. 

Page 2 GAO-07-601T 
According to AOC’s construction management contractor, contractor 

billings indicated that the overall CVC project is now 91 percent complete, 

compared with 90 percent reported complete at the February 16 CVC 

hearing. Twelve of the CVC’s 23 air-handling units were operating full time 

as of March 1; about 84 percent of interior floor stone has reportedly been

installed; and work has progressed in the East Front. In addition, AOC’s 

Chief Fire Marshal has essentially approved all shop drawings3

 submitted 

for the fire protection system except those for a special fire suppression 

system for the exhibit gallery. In addition, the fire marshal expects to 

complete his review of the contractor’s final plan for the fire alarm 

system’s acceptance testing by mid-April. 

Construction Is 

Progressing, but 

Substantial Delays 

Have Occurred in 

Near-Critical Paths 

All Near-Critical Paths 

Have Been Delayed 

The construction management contractor maintains that there have been 

no delays in the critical path shown in the January 2007 schedule. 

However, delays have occurred in all 17 near-critical paths, and further 

delays in some of these paths could affect the project’s completion date. 

Work on 8 near-critical paths fell at least 4 weeks further behind in 

January. For example, according to the construction management 

contractor, the schedules for the East Front principal level and for the 

exhibit gallery’s fire protection system slipped by 9 weeks and 5 weeks, 

respectively, between the December 2006 and the January 2007 schedules.

Because of the delays in the fire alarm system work and in several nearcritical paths, AOC has extended the scheduled construction completion 

date for the House and Senate expansion spaces. For the expansion 

spaces, the schedule slipped by 8 days—from July 27 to August 9, 2007—

according to the January 2007 schedule. The near-critical paths include 

millwork, bronze doors, and above-ceiling work. Of even greater concern, 

the dates shown in the January 2007 schedule for completing six nearcritical paths were within 20 workdays of the critical path, meaning that 

additional delays of 12 to 20 workdays or more in these paths could delay 

the overall completion of the expansion spaces. Furthermore, the 

expansion space subcontractor has said that it has not yet determined 

whether scope changes requested by the government will affect the 

scheduled construction completion date. 

 3

Shop drawings are submittals required by the contract that provide detailed information 

on work that is to be done. 

Page 3 GAO-07-601T 
Barring further construction delays, the House and Senate expansion 

spaces will be completed before the CVC’s construction, but both the CVC 

and the expansion spaces will be available for occupancy at the same time, 

because AOC is planning to test the fire protection and other major 

building systems in both facilities concurrently. 

Indicators of Construction 

Progress Are Mixed 

The indicators of construction progress that we have been tracking 

continue to suggest that, despite some progress, the project’s construction 

is not likely to be completed on December 21, 2007, as shown in the 

project’s January 2007 schedule, unless the actions AOC is taking to 

improve the CVC team’s schedule performance are effective in stopping 

slippages. First, as shown in table 1, the sequence 2 contractor4

 completed 

8 of 9 milestones5

 scheduled for completion by March 7, 2007, the date of 

our analysis. Six of these milestones were completed on time. While the 

number of completed milestones is greater this month than last,6

 our 

analysis for this month is based on a new baseline established for the 

February schedule. Had we used the same baseline we used for the 

previous hearing, all but 1 of the milestones would have been completed 

late. AOC changed the baseline because it recognized that the older 

schedule was unrealistic, and we agree that a change in the baseline was 

necessary. 

 4

AOC decided to implement the CVC construction project in two phases, or sequences. The

sequence 1 contract, for excavation and structural work, was awarded to Centex 

Construction Company, and the sequence 2 contract, for mechanical, electrical, plumbing

and interior finishing work, was awarded to Manhattan Construction Company. In addition, 

AOC, which has overall responsibility for managing the CVC project, has been receiving

construction management services from Gilbane Building Company. These services include 

coordinating the activities of the major construction contractors, monitoring worker safety, 

and providing AOC with status information for reporting to Congress. See Capitol Visitor 

Center: Priority Attention Needed to Manage Schedules and Contracts, GAO-05-714T 

(Washington, D.C.: May 17, 2005). 

5

The table also includes a tenth milestone, scheduled for completion by March 9, 2007, but 

as of March 7, AOC did not expect this work to be completed by that date. 

6

As we reported at the February hearing, the contractor completed 4 of 21 milestones

scheduled for completion by December 30, 2006—2 milestones on time and 2 late. 

Page 4 GAO-07-601T 
Table 1: Sequence 2 Contractor’s Progress in Meeting Selected Milestones Scheduled for Completion by March 13, 2007 

Activity Location 

Scheduled

completion Actual completion

Set escalator 35 truss West Lobby and Assembly 02/12/2007 02/20/2007

Set escalator 34 truss West Lobby and Assembly 02/16/2007 02/16/2007

Install glass floor, north end 1/3 Exhibit Gallery 02/28/2007 02/19/2007

Servery area stone tile Food Service 02/28/2007 02/28/2007

Carpet Food Service 02/28/2007 03/01/2007

Finish drywall bulkheads Orientation Lobby 02/28/2007 02/15/2007

Foot grilles Great Hall 03/05/2007 02/26/2007

Ceiling installation House Service Level 03/07/2007 a

Install glass wall north end 2/3 Exhibit Gallery 03/09/2007 02/27/2007

Complete testing and balancing Great Hall 03/09/2007 a

Source: AOC for the scheduled completion dates and AOC and its construction management contractor for the actual completion dates 

as of March 7, 2007. 

a

As of March 7, 2007, AOC did not expect this work to be completed on time. 

Second, as figure 1 shows, the sequence 2 contractor’s monthly billings 

through January 2007 continue to indicate that construction work is about 

2 months behind the scheduled completion date. Because the line for 

actual billings falls below the line for billings based on the late finish dates 

in the schedule, the work is likely to be completed later than scheduled. 

Page 5 GAO-07-601T 
Figure 1: Total Billings by the Sequence 2 Contractor for the Entire CVC Project Compared with the Billings Needed to Finish 

Construction Work on Schedule

Notes: 

The early and late lines on this figure reflect the cumulative billings that would be required to 

complete the project through contract modification number 160 ($242.4 million total contact value) by

the early and late finish dates shown in the sequence 2 contractor’s schedule. 

The actual line reflects the sequence 2 contractor’s actual monthly billings. 

Although bills are typically submitted for payment after work is completed, it is often likely that

construction work will be completed on schedule when the actual billing line falls between the early

and the late lines in the figure. Even with the lag in billings, this figure indicates that the amount of 

work being completed and billed each month is not sufficient to keep the project on schedule. 

Page 6 GAO-07-601T 
Other indicators of construction progress that we have been tracking, such

as the number of proposed change orders, also point to further delays. The 

number of proposed change orders has continued to grow during 

sequence 2 work, even at this relatively late stage in the project. Proposed 

change orders that result in contract modifications for new work or 

rework could adversely affect the schedule, as well as the costs, of the 

project. 

Project Continues to Face 

Risks and Uncertainties 

Problems in completing the installation, integration, operation, and testing 

of complex, major building systems, including the fire alarm, security, and 

HVAC systems, remain the most significant risk facing the project’s 

schedule. Technical problems may not be evident until these systems 

undergo testing and commissioning.7 According to the January 2007 

schedule, the HVAC system’s commissioning is not planned to be 

completed until July 2007, and in the interim, much work remains. As of 

March 1, 12 of the CVC’s 23 air-handling units were providing conditioned 

air to their designated spaces full time. The remaining 11 units were 

reportedly ready to operate as soon as the initial control programming 

could be installed, spaces for the units could be prepared and cleaned, and 

in some cases, other work could be completed. All 23 units still require air 

flow testing and balancing, control-related work, connection to the fire 

alarm system, punch-list work, and commissioning. 8

 While the CVC team 

expects the commissioning of the entire HVAC system to be completed in 

July, the achievability of this date is uncertain. We continue to believe that 

AOC needs to ensure that all of the remaining work and testing related to

the CVC’s major building systems is well coordinated, as we discussed at 

the Subcommittee’s February CVC hearing. 

While work on the fire alarm system has advanced, it still requires 

substantial acceptance testing, as well as testing to ensure that it and the 

other major building systems operate together as intended. In addition, the 

project’s schedule remains vulnerable to other risks and uncertainties, 

including design or scope changes, late identification or slow resolution of 

 7

Final acceptance testing is the last test of a system’s operation, conducted to ensure that

the system meets all contract specifications and relevant fire and life safety code 

requirements and operates as intended. 

8

Commissioning is a systematic process to ensure, by verification and documentation, that

all of a facility’s systems perform interactively as designed and intended to meet the 

owner’s operational needs. 

Page 7 GAO-07-601T 
problems, and insufficient manpower. AOC is currently reassessing the 

schedule and considering adding more time for such items as further 

pretesting of major building systems, risks and uncertainties, and 

operations preparation. According to AOC, it anticipates that this 

additional time would likely move the CVC’s completion date to the spring 

of 2008 and the CVC’s date for opening to the public to the summer of 

2008. AOC expects to have more specific dates when it completes its 

schedule reassessment. 

Our estimate of the project’s cost at completion remains the same as we 

have reported since the November 15 CVC hearing—$592 million without 

provision for risks and uncertainties and over $600 million with such 

provision. As we reported at the November hearing, the $592 million 

estimate is rough, and we have not updated the $600 million estimate to 

reflect our assessment of the cost impact of risks and uncertainties. 

To date, about $538.4 million has been approved for CVC construction, 

including about $7.4 million in fiscal year 2007 appropriations. In fiscal 

year 2007, AOC has received an additional appropriated amount of $36.4 

million for the CVC project, which AOC has not yet received approval to 

obligate. AOC has not indicated how much of the additional money is 

needed for construction or operations. AOC has also requested $20 million 

in fiscal year 2008 CVC construction appropriations to cover remaining 

costs. In addition to this requested fiscal year 2008 funding, we estimate 

that AOC may need further appropriations in future fiscal years for 

construction changes and claims. 

Madam Chair, this completes my prepared statement. I would be pleased

to answer any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee may 

have. 

For further information about this testimony, please contact Terrell Dorn 

at (202) 512-6923. Other key contributors to this testimony include Shirley

Abel, Maria Edelstein, Elizabeth Eisenstadt, Jeanette Franzel, Jackie 

Hamilton, Bradley James, Kelly Slade, and Bernard Ungar. 

Cost Estimate 

Remains Unchanged, 

but Additional Funds 

Have Been Provided 

and More Are Likely 

to Be Needed 

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments 

Page 8 GAO-07-601T (545056) 
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