The state Department of Administration, UW-Madison campus leaders and the Zimmerman architectural team agreed to extend the project timeline by 6-8 weeks. This will give the various parties involved the time needed to add the detail and specificity to the 100% design plans to ensure the plans are fully complete and accurate. This, in turn, will help ensure dependable bids are received from both the general contractors and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors.

The idea of an extension was brought up by industry stakeholders in a meeting requested by Lou Gentine, which took place on 11/27/2017. In addition to Gentine, attendees included John Umhoefer, Dave Furhmann, Tom Hedge, Dave Stroik, Tom Witte, Lyle Clem, Scott Rankin, John Lucey, Dick Straub, Doug Sabatke and Kate VandenBosch.

At the meeting, there was wide agreement that it would be worth taking the extra time to make sure the plans are in great shape before they go out to bid. The additional time will also give some space to further develop the phasing schedule, refining the order/timing of the various steps involved in this complex construction project.

Key dates on the updated timeline include:

· Final bid documents posted: Feb 14
· Mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractor bid date: Mar 14
· General Prime Contractor (GPC) bid date: March 28