Arlington County Saves Taxpayers Millions by Removing PLA Requirement

Remove a PLA, Save Millions!

Arlington County saved taxpayers over $7 million - 33% of the total estimated cost - simply by dropping a government-mandated Project Labor Agreement.

Good news for Arlington taxpayers! The County’s decision to drop the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on the reconstruction of the bridge connecting Arlington Ridge Road and Mount Vernon Avenue over Four Mile Run lowered costs by 33%.   The project was originally bid with a PLA. Local construction firms responded in shock, with most indicating they would not submit a bid to the project.

Arlington County then removed the PLA requirement, and the bidding process was reopened. Bids came in much lower than the anticipated cost of $23,836,000 in the county’s Capital Improvement plan.  After including the contingency and project management costs, the total cost of the bride reconstruction will be jus over $16 million. That is 33% lower than the originally estimate for the project

This outcome reinforces a recurring theme: without PLAs, competition is increased and overall project costs come down – significantly. This story is not unique, as studies continually show the lack of bid competition caused by PLAs inflates project costs by 12 to 20 percent, sometimes more. In fact, a landmark study published in August by the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness found that PLAs increased the cost of new affordable housing projects by 21%.  

By removing the PLA, Arlington increased competition, cut costs, and delivered over $7 million in savings for Arlington County taxpayers.