Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on the 

Legislative Branch, Committee on 

Appropriations, U.S. Senate 

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO 

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 10:30 a.m. EDT 

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 CAPITOL VISITOR 

CENTER 

Status of Schedule, Fire 

Protection, Cost, and 

Related Issues 

Statement of Bernard L. Ungar, Director 

Terrell Dorn, Assistant Director 

Physical Infrastructure Issues 

GAO-06-180T 
Page 1 GAO-06-180T 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

We are pleased to be here today to assist the Subcommittee in monitoring 

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 the Subcommittee’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.1

 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 the Subcommittee’s 

September 15 hearing. Thus, while we will discuss the schedule’s status 

today, 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 today, 

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. 

Our remarks today 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; our observations on the progress of 

work at the CVC construction site; and our discussions with CVC project 

staff (including AOC, its major CVC contractors, and representatives of 

MBP), AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal, United States Capitol Police (USCP) 

representatives, and officials responsible for managing the Capitol Power 

Plant (CPP). We did not perform an audit; rather, we performed our work 

to assist Congress in conducting its oversight activities. 

In summary, AOC and its construction contractors have made progress in 

managing the schedule and accomplishing work since the Subcommittee’s 

September 15 CVC hearing, but additional delays have been encountered. 

 1

See GAO, Capitol Visitor Center: Schedule Delays Continue; Reassessment Underway, 

GAO-05-1037T (Washington, D.C.: September 15, 2005). 
Page 2 GAO-06-180T 

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. 

Moreover, some revisions have been made to project activities and 

schedules, but these revisions have not been fully evaluated. The sequence 

2 contractor revised the manner in which the HVAC and fire protection 

systems’ commissioning work and acceptance testing would be done, 

which changed this contractor’s scheduled completion date for the base 

project to December 11, 2006, from a completion date of February 26, 

2007, in the contractor’s August schedule. However, neither AOC nor its 

construction management contractor has had time to fully evaluate these 

revisions. In addition, AOC’s construction management contractor has 

now integrated into the project’s September 2005 schedule a number of 

recently prepared component schedules, including schedules for preparing 

for CVC operations and House and Senate expansion space construction. 

This integrated project schedule shows the base project as being ready for 

opening to the public by mid December 2006 and a completion date of 

February 26, 2007, for the House and Senate expansion spaces.2

 However, 

neither AOC nor its construction management contractor has fully 

evaluated the activity durations or adequacy of resource levels shown in 

the base project’s schedule as we recommended in our September 15 

statement. Also, the September 2005 schedule does not yet fully reflect 

input from AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal on commissioning or testing and 

inspection activities. Thus, we are not now in a position to estimate a 

specific completion date, and our views should be regarded as preliminary 

at this time. With this qualification in mind, we have not seen recent 

evidence that would change our preliminary view that a base project 

completion date in 2006 will be difficult to achieve and that construction 

 2

AOC set September 15, 2006, as the contractual date for completing the base project’s 

construction and for opening the CVC facility to the public. The House and Senate 

expansion spaces were scheduled to be completed after that date. AOC set the September 

contract completion date in November 2004, when it reached agreement with the 

contractor on a new date for starting sequence 2 that reflected the delays experienced on 

sequence 1. On September 6, 2005, AOC informed Capitol Preservation Commission 

representatives that it still expected the base project’s construction to be substantially 

complete on September 15, 2006, but was postponing the date for opening the facility to the 

public to December 15, 2006, so that it could complete system tests, minor punch-list work, 

and preparations for operations. 
Page 3 GAO-06-180T 

completion in early to mid 2007 is more likely unless AOC and its 

contractors take extraordinary action or change the project’s scope, which 

could result in additional costs to the Government. Our view is based on 

the schedule slippages that have already occurred, the views of project 

personnel that several activities (such as interior wall stone installation 

and interior finish work) are likely to take longer than shown in the 

schedule, the large number of activities that the current project schedule 

shows as being at risk of causing the project’s completion date to slip, and 

the risks and uncertainties that continue to face the project. While we view 

the increased number of stone masons as quite positive, it is not clear 

whether the contractor will be able to maintain a sufficiently high number 

of masons on the site or whether sufficient stone supplies will be available 

on time given the problems that have been experienced in this regard. 

AOC and its construction manager expect to have their evaluations of the 

sequence 2 contractor’s schedule changes, scheduled activity durations, 

and proposed resource levels done by the end of this year. We will reevaluate the project schedule and inform the Subcommittee of our results 

after AOC and its construction management contractor have what they 

consider to be a reasonably stable integrated schedule. 

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 
Page 4 GAO-06-180T 

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 the Subcommittee’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 the Subcommittee’s last 

CVC hearing has been provided for the CVC. 

While work in several areas has moved forward since the Subcommittee’s 

September 15 CVC hearing, additional delays have been encountered, and 

project schedules have been revised but not fully reviewed or evaluated. 

Construction work has continued on the CVC, the East Front, the plaza, 

the House and Senate expansion spaces, and the utility tunnel since the 

Subcommittee’s September 15 hearing. 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. Some stone masons 

worked on weekends between mid August and mid September. In 

addition, excavation, concrete, and piping work in the utility tunnel has 

been proceeding, as has mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work in the 

CVC. 

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. None of 

these activities had been completed by the target dates shown in the 

contractor’s April 2005 baseline schedule, although one was completed by 

the date shown in the contractor’s June 2005 schedule. (See app. I.) 

Furthermore, additional delays have occurred on interior and exterior 

stonework installation, the East Front, the utility tunnel, and the House 

connector tunnel. For example, according to AOC’s construction 

Project Schedules 

Have Been Revised 

but Not Fully 

Evaluated 
Page 5 GAO-06-180T 

management contractor, during September, the sequence 2 contractor 

gained only 12 workdays on critical interior stonework and 10 workdays 

on the utility tunnel out of a possible 21 days of work. According to the 

construction management contractor, stonework has been delayed due a 

shortage of stone masons, a lack of critical pieces of stone, the need to do 

remedial concrete work in the orientation theaters and along the exterior 

concrete walls and interior concrete floors of the auditorium, and delays 

in getting shop drawings for stonework on the East Front. According to 

AOC’s construction management contractor, excavation work on First 

Street for the utility tunnel has been delayed due to unforeseen conditions 

and the need to stop work for the former Chief Justice’s funeral at the 

Supreme Court, and unforeseen conditions have also delayed work on the 

House connector tunnel. 

During September, the sequence 2 contractor changed the manner in 

which the HVAC and Fire Protection system’s commissioning work and 

acceptance testing would be done, with the potential result of a time 

savings. The changes largely involved re-sequencing work and doing work 

concurrently that the August schedule showed would be done 

sequentially. According to the contractor’s revised schedule, these changes 

will result in an improvement of over 60 workdays and bring the scheduled 

completion date for this work to December 11, 2006, compared to the 

February 26, 2007, date shown in the August schedule. 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. 

Altogether, the construction management contractor has identified a total 

of 11 critical activity paths in the September schedule that will extend the 

base project’s completion date beyond AOC’s September 15, 2006, target 

date if expected lost time cannot be recovered or further delays cannot be 

prevented. In addition to the critical paths related to the HVAC system and 

the fire alarm system that are discussed above, examples of other base 

project critical path activities included in the contractor’s September 

schedule are utility tunnel and piping, stonework in the East Front, 

interior wall stone in such areas as the orientation theaters and atria, 

stonework in the auditorium and exhibit gallery, millwork and casework 

installation in the orientation theaters and atria, fabrication and 

installation of bronze doors, and penthouse mechanical work. Of the 11 

critical activity paths in the September schedule, completion dates for 4 
Page 6 GAO-06-180T 

paths improved compared to the August schedule, but completion dates 

for the other 7 paths, including all of the stonework paths, slipped. For 

example, according to the construction management contractor, the 

September schedule shows all of the work associated with the fire alarm 

testing critical path being completed by November 22, 2006, an 

improvement over the August schedule’s date of February 26, 2007; the 

September schedule also shows all of the work associated with the 

interior auditorium wall stone critical path being completed by December 

12, 2005, more than a month later than the August schedule’s date of 

November 2, 2005. The sequence 2 contractor’s September 2005 schedule 

indicates that construction work on the base CVC will be essentially 

complete by September 15, 2006, and that remaining work between that 

date and December 11, 2006, will largely consist of testing, balancing, and 

commissioning the HVAC system; testing and inspecting the fire protection 

system; punch-list work; and preparing for operations. 

Most of the activities discussed above are among the activities we 

previously identified as likely having optimistic durations, suggesting that 

it could take even longer to complete them than shown in the project 

schedule. These activities served as the basis for the recommendation we 

made to AOC during the Subcommittee’s September 15 hearing that AOC 

rigorously evaluate the durations for the activities shown in the project 

schedule. According to AOC, it has not yet completed this evaluation. 

Moreover, we continue to believe that having such a large number of 

critical activity paths complicates project management and makes on-time 

completion more difficult. 

AOC’s construction management contractor has continued to integrate 

various component schedules into the CVC construction and summary 

schedules as they have been completed, and the integrated schedule 

contains about 6,500 activities. Consequently, AOC now has a summary 

schedule that integrates the completion of CVC and House and Senate 

expansion space construction with preparations necessary for opening the 

CVC to the public. This integrated summary schedule shows CVC 

construction as well as the activities necessary for opening the CVC to the 

public being completed by mid December 2006, the time AOC proposed 

last month for opening the CVC to the public. That is, AOC expects 

construction work on the base CVC project to be substantially completed 

by September 15, 2006, but expects such work as HVAC commissioning, 

fire protection system testing and inspection, punch-list work, and 

operations preparations work to be ongoing until December 15, 2006. 

According to AOC’s sequence 2 and construction management 

contractors, it is not yet clear whether expansion space construction will 
Page 7 GAO-06-180T 

have progressed to the point where temporary work for fire safety once 

believed to be necessary to open the CVC to the public will no longer have 

to be done. They said that they are still analyzing the work associated with 

those areas where the base project interfaces with the expansion spaces 

and whether and how the need for temporary work for fire safety can be 

minimized or eliminated. 

Although the sequence 2 contractor has taken, plans to take, and is 

considering various actions3

 to recover lost time and prevent or mitigate 

further delays, we continue to believe that the contractor will have 

difficulty completing construction before early to mid 2007. 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’s 

construction management contractor also points out that further delays 

could result from congressional requests to stop work due to high noise 

levels in the East Front and delays in completing CVC ceiling work 

necessary for the HVAC and fire protection systems, although the CVC 

team is considering ways to mitigate these risks. We also note that the 

Chief Fire Marshal has not yet approved the construction drawings for the 

fire protection system or the schedule for the system’s commissioning and 

testing. 

In addition to our views on the project’s September schedule changes and 

progress, we would also like to briefly discuss several schedule-related 

issues about which we have previously raised questions or issues or made 

recommendations to AOC. 

 3

In September, the sequence 2 contractor increased the number of stone masons working 

on the project. For example, AOC’s construction management contractor reported that an 

average of 22 stone masons worked on the project each work day for the work week 

ending October 14, compared to an average of 14 each work day for the work week ending 

August 26. Stone masons also worked on several weekends, and the contractor plans to 

further increase the number of stonemasons during October and to re-sequence stonework 

to help mitigate a delay in the exhibit gallery. The contractor has hired an additional 

subcontractor to help construct the utility tunnel and is considering working longer hours 

or additional weekends to recover time. The contractor also plans to continue to evaluate 

the schedule to see what changes can be made to save time in a variety of areas. 
Page 8 GAO-06-180T 

• We have been recommending for some time that AOC improve schedule 

management and analyze and document delays and the reasons and 

responsibilities for them on an ongoing basis—at least monthly. We have 

noted considerable improvements in the CVC team’s schedule analysis and 

management since the arrival of the construction management 

contractor’s project control engineer several months ago. Shortly after his 

arrival, the scope and depth of schedule analysis and management 

improved significantly, and AOC’s construction management contractor 

modified its monitoring process to capture information on delays. 

However, we continue to be concerned about AOC’s not having adequate 

information systematically compiled and analyzed to fully evaluate the 

causes and potential responsibilities for delays on an ongoing basis. In our 

view, not having this type of information on an ongoing basis is likely to 

create problems later on should disputes arise and knowledgeable staff 

leave. Also, in this regard, we have previously expressed concerns about 

the need for the project schedule to show resources to be applied to meet 

schedule dates. While the sequence 2 contractor has shown proposed 

resource levels for many activities, proposed resource levels have not 

been included for many of the new activities added to the project 

schedule. The lack of such information can complicate the analysis of 

delays, including their causes and costs. AOC agreed that these issues are 

important and said it would discuss them with its construction 

management contractor. 

• We have previously recommended that AOC develop risk mitigation plans 

to address risks and uncertainties facing the project. In July, AOC asked 

one of its consultants—MBP—to assist it in identifying risks and 

developing plans to address those risks. AOC has identified over 50 risks 

facing the project and established a process for addressing them. AOC has 

begun to develop and implement plans for managing these risks. As of 

October 11, AOC had developed plans for addressing 12 risks, such as 

unforeseen conditions associated with constructing the House connector 

tunnel, and fabrication and installation of custom bronze doors and 

windows. AOC said that it will continue to develop plans for the remaining 

risks. It also plans to discuss the risks at a weekly meeting and add new 

risks to its list and develop mitigation plans for them as they are identified. 

• The September schedule shows utility tunnel construction being 

completed in February 2006 and CVC’s air handlers beginning to operate at 

that time, assuming that they can get steam and chilled water from the 

Capitol Power Plant. During our September 15 testimony, we noted 

several problems associated with CPP that could adversely affect the CVC 

as well as other congressional buildings if not corrected or addressed. 

These problems included, for example, potential delays in completing the 
Page 9 GAO-06-180T 

West Refrigeration Plant Expansion Project, which is necessary to provide 

chilled water to the CVC; the removal from service of two chillers in the 

East Refrigeration Plant because of refrigerant gas leaks; fire damage to a 

steam boiler; and staffing and training issues associated with operating the 

new plant and the absence of a CPP director. Since the Subcommittee’s 

September 15 CVC hearing, the fire damage to the boiler has been 

repaired, and the two coal-burning boilers that were taken off line for 

maintenance had been put back on line; however, another maintenance 

problem occurred with one of the boilers and it had to be turned off for 

repairs, which AOC expects to have completed by the end of this week. 

Also, over the Columbus Day weekend, heavy rains caused damage to 

electrical equipment that resulted in a power outage affecting the entire 

plant. Power was restored within a few hours; however, because of 

damage to the electrical equipment, power is not available at certain 

locations within the plant. In particular, one of the chillers in the East 

Plant is inoperable because power cannot be provided to it. This incident 

prompted AOC to make a change that affects the West Refrigeration Plant 

Expansion Project. Specifically, AOC has decided to reconfigure the 

chilled water piping system to allow the West Plant to operate in isolation 

of West Plant Expansion. This change, which could result in an increase to 

the contract cost, will decrease CPP’s reliance on the older East Plant and 

will enhance its capacity to reliably provide chilled water to the CVC and 

other congressional buildings. Finally, AOC recently advertised the vacant 

director’s position. At this time, GAO has an active engagement to assess 

certain CPP issues, such as staffing and training for, and the estimated 

cost to complete, the West Refrigeration Plant Expansion Project. This 

engagement is being conducted as part of a separate review for the 

Subcommittee. 

• Although AOC determined that the sequence 1 work was substantially 

complete in November 2004, the sequence 1 contractor has continued to 

work on punch-list items. Since the Subcommittee’s September 15 CVC 

hearing, AOC’s construction management contractor added about 15 

additional work items to this list, such as chipping concrete interfering 

with wall stone installation and repairing drains. According to AOC’s 

construction management contractor, the sequence 1 contractor has been 

making satisfactory progress in completing the punch-list work. 
Page 10 GAO-06-180T 

The CVC’s fire protection system is complicated, interfaces with security 

and other building systems, and encompasses a variety of subsystems and 

components, such as smoke and heat detectors, an alarm system, a 

sprinkler system, a smoke evacuation system, door locks that will open in 

the event of a fire, monitoring and control systems, emergency signage, 

lighting, communication, and a system for preventing smoke from entering 

stairwells—referred to as stair pressurization—to allow occupants to get 

out of the building. We have identified three issues related to the fire 

protection system, each of which we would like to briefly discuss. 

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. According to 

AOC, the building codes governing the design of the CVC often conflict 

with security requirements, do not recognize the unique security needs 

of the Capitol, and are particularly silent when it comes to the 

integration of new air filtration technologies. In addition, AOC said 

that security requirements and the decision to add state-of-the art air 

filtration technology to the project when the construction documents 

were almost complete forced the project team to redesign all of the air 

handling systems in a compressed timeframe in order to maintain the 

overall schedule. It also forced the project team to devise a complex 

design solution with AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal and USCP while 

sequence 2 was out for bid as well as after the contract had been 

awarded. 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. The CVC project team and the Chief Fire 

Marshal note, however, that not all of the shop drawings related to the 

fire protection system have been submitted or approved, and some 

issues could arise during the review process. 

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 

Fire Protection 

System Issues Are in 

the Process of Being 

Resolved 
Page 11 GAO-06-180T 

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. The most costly 

change involving the security/fire safety conflict that the CVC team has 

agreed to relates to the manner in which fresh air will be brought into 

the building to pressurize stairwells to prevent smoke infiltration in the 

event of a fire. The estimated costs for this change (including the 

expansion space) amount to about $2.2 million, or over 40 percent of 

the estimated increased costs for the fire protection system. 

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. The final costs for the stair pressurization and 

detection devices in question as well as the other anticipated changes 

could change significantly from the estimated amounts once any open 

issues regarding costs are resolved. It is also possible that some of the 

proposed change orders include work items that are not related to the 

CVC’s fire protection system, and to the extent this situation exists, 

costs for such work items would not be attributable to the fire 

protection system. 

3. 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. To improve coordination, the CVC project team 

has been working with its construction management contractor and 

the Chief Fire Marshal to develop a systematic process for arranging 

for and documenting fire safety inspections and is considering hiring a 

consultant to help facilitate the coordination process. The Chief Fire 

Marshal has increased staffing devoted to the CVC and is planning to 

obtain contract support to help perform CVC inspections. The Chief 

Fire Marshal is also reviewing the sequence 2 contractor’s September 

2005 schedule to determine whether the sequencing of work and the 

time allotted for fire safety and occupancy inspections are acceptable. 
Page 12 GAO-06-180T 

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.4

 As you may recall, Mr. Chairman, at your last CVC hearing, we 

expressed concern about possible duplication of work and costs in areas 

where the responsibilities of AOC’s CVC construction and operations 

contractors overlap, such as in designing wayfinding signage and the gift 

shops. AOC agreed to work with its operations planning contractor to 

clarify the contractor’s scope of work, eliminate any duplication, and 

adjust the operations contract’s funding accordingly. AOC told us that it 

has discussed these issues with its contractor and concluded that while no 

duplication of work or funding exists, it needs to clarify the contract’s 

scope of work on wayfinding signage because it included more work than 

the contractor would actually do. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes our statement. We would be pleased to 

answer any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee may have. 

 4

AOC had planned to use $100,000 of its fiscal year 2006 appropriation for CVC 

construction to move a fire alarm control panel in the Capitol building related to CVC 

construction but outside the CVC work area. AOC has decided to pay for this move with 

other funds, thus making the $100,000 available for other CVC construction purposes 

subject to approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. As we 

reported in September, AOC had also used about $805,000 in CVC operations funds for 

certain construction work that had been funded by the fiscal year 2006 construction 

appropriation. These funds also could be used for other CVC work subject to the 

Committees’ approval. 

Our Project Cost 

Estimate Update 

Awaits Assessment of 

Consultant Estimate 

and Schedule 

Stabilization; Funding 

Provided Has Not 

Changed Since 

September 2005 
Page 13 GAO-06-180T 

For further information about this testimony, please contact Bernard 

Ungar at (202) 512-4232 or Terrell Dorn at (202) 512-6923. Other key 

contributors to this testimony include Shirley Abel, Michael Armes, John 

Craig, George Depaoli, Maria Edelstein, Brett Fallavollita, Jeanette 

Franzel, Jackie Hamilton, Bradley James, Scott Riback, Kris Trueblood, 

and Alwynne Wilbur. 

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments 
Page 14 GAO-06-180T 

Source: AOC’s April and June 2005 CVC sequence 2 construction schedules for the scheduled completion dates and AOC and its 

construction management contractor for the actual completion dates. 

Note: Actual completion information was obtained on October 12, 2005. 

*This activity was not noted listed in the April schedule. All other activities were critical in the April 

schedule or became critical in subsequent schedules. 

Appendix I: Capitol Visitor Center Critical 

Construction Target Dates September 16 – 

October 18, 2005 

Activity Location 

April 2005 Scheduled

 Finish Date

June 2005 Scheduled 

 Finish Date 

Actual Finish

 Date

Drill/Set Soldier Piles Sta. 

0:00-1:00 

Utility Tunnel 6/08/05 8/23/05 9/21/05

Wall Stone Area 9 Base Great Hall 7/15/05 11/03/05 9/14/05

10” South Fire Line Site 7/19/05 1/09/06 

Excavate and Shore Sta. 

0:00-1:00 

Utility Tunnel 7/21/05 10/05/05 

Concrete Working Slab Sta. 

 0:00-1:00 

Utility Tunnel 7/26/05 10/10/05 

Waterproof Working Slab 

Sta. 0:00-1:00 

Utility Tunnel 7/29/05 10/13/05 

Wall Stone Area 1 Congressional 

Auditorium 

8/08/05 7/22/05 

Wall Stone Area 2 Congressional 

Auditorium 

8/22/05 8/05/05 

Wall Stone Area 3 Congressional 

Auditorium 

9/06/05 8/19/05 

Wall Stone Area 5* Base Orientation Theater 9/13/05 9/28/05

Perimeter CMU Walls Orientation Lobby 9/20/05 9/16/05 

(543149) 
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