Austin-Bergstrom Airport Contracts: ROCIP AUS, Bonds and Expansion

Austin Aviation's Construction and Design Resources page lists the ROCIP AUS documents: an insurance manual, a master workers' compensation policy, a master general liability policy, a primary excess liability policy, a primary contractors' environmental legal liability policy, a safety manual and a claims kit. The presence of a master workers' compensation policy is the main difference from DFW, whose 2020 manual leaves workers' compensation with each contractor. Enrolled trades typically get on-site workers' compensation and general liability from the owner's program, while auto, equipment and off-site work stay with the contractor, but the manual defines the split.

The City procured the program's administration in 2025 and 2026. Its request for proposals seeking a broker of record and administrative services for ROCIP AUS was published June 30, 2025, with an award recommendation dated October 28, 2025, and the scope tied the program to the airport's expansion and redevelopment program. On March 12, 2026, Council approved on consent a six-year contract with Marsh & McLennan for broker of record and administrative services, not to exceed $49,579,000, and a construction safety management contract with Safety Management Group, not to exceed $800,000.

We could not read the ROCIP AUS manual or master policies, which sit behind a document viewer that would not load for us. Its wrap limits, deductibles, excluded trades, contractor-carried minimums and any airside auto limit are not stated here. Get the manual from the solicitation and read it before pricing.

The City's bid forms include Document 00425A, an Insurance Cost Form for ROCIP projects only, dated August 12, 2019. The form's title points to bidders reporting the insurance cost they removed from their price; we did not read its instructions, so follow the form in the solicitation for the method and the level of detail required.

Texas Insurance Code Chapter 151 defines a consolidated insurance program as one under which a principal provides general liability, workers' compensation or both, which fits a wrap like ROCIP AUS. The same chapter limits additional insured requirements tied to prohibited indemnity, exempts program policies to the extent they list, add or delete named insureds and excludes certain municipal public works indemnity provisions. How those sections apply to a given Austin contract is a broker review item and may need counsel.

For subcontractors, the practical steps are the same as on most wraps: separate on-site payroll from off-site payroll, identify the workers' compensation and general liability cost tied to enrolled work, keep auto and equipment costs in the bid and confirm that enrollment is complete before mobilizing.

The City lists Document 00610 Performance Bond and Document 00620 Payment Bond, both dated February 4, 2020, among its capital forms. Texas Government Code Chapter 2253 requires a municipality to obtain a performance bond on public works contracts over $100,000 and a payment bond over $50,000, each in the amount of the contract. The City's 00700 General Conditions, dated October 3, 2025, are listed on the same page but were not readable to us, so retainage, maintenance bond and surety standards should be taken from the solicitation.

Expansion packages at this scale bring bonding capacity into play early. Large single contracts, such as a share of the Concourse B work, typically require the surety to see work-in-progress schedules, backlog and financial statements well before bid, and joint ventures need their own indemnity arrangements.

Austin Aviation calls its capital work the Airport Expansion and Development Program and says its overall scope and budget are still in development. The amounts Council has authorized are more concrete. Austin Aviation lists $72 million for engineering and architectural services and $1.031 billion for pre-construction and construction services on Concourse B and the Tunnel, $820 million for pre-construction and construction of the Arrivals and Departures Hall and $320 million for the Midfield Taxiways. The page does not give the authorization dates.

On May 6, 2026, Austin Aviation announced $1.18 billion in revenue bond funding for the program, including the new 26-gate Concourse B and Tunnel. A September 2025 Airport Advisory Commission briefing lists Concourse B and Tunnel construction from 2026 to 2030 with Hensel Phelps, the Midfield Taxiways with Austin Bridge & Road and the West Gate Expansion with Hensel Phelps. For trade contractors, those named builders are where many packages are typically bought, and the ROCIP AUS manual governs enrolled work on each.