The General Assembly finds that:
(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 has developed an alternative, cost-effective, procurement procedure for transportation projects performed by the commission and the Arkansas Department of Transportation;
(4) 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
(5) 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”.