The Louisiana Senate has approved a bill intended to put road and bridge repairs in the state on the fast track.

Senators meeting in special session voted 23-14 Friday, Nov. 18, to advance a bill to give the state’s highway department open-ended authority to use the so-called “design-build” concept for hurricane repair contracts. The authority would be permanent, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported.

The bill, which previously passed the House, now moves to Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who’s expected to sign it.

The design-build contracting process allows contractors to submit plans to design and construct each highway project. Typically, one firm designs a highway and another builds it, with separate contract bidding. Opponents of the concept do not believe it saves money and may end up in projects not going to the lowest bidder.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Roy Quezaire, D-Donaldsonville, said the effort could apply to work throughout the state that was affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Quezaire’s bill – HB132 – would require the approval of the state’s House and Senate transportation panels before the state’s highway department could undertake a design-build project.

Existing Louisiana law requires the state to solicit bids for the design of a road or bridge, wait for the bids to be awarded, then bid out the construction part of the project, the newspaper reported. Quezaire said making it a one-step process could speed some projects by a year or more.

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development officials said that 37 states now use design-build as a way to speed construction and save money.