Flowchart 11: Project Closure

The third major federal milestone on your project is closing out the project, which incorporates final acceptance and final vouchering (reimbursement) for the project. Closing out the project is when your responsibilities transition to maintaining and operating the facility.

You must prepare as-constructed plans in accordance with Section 121.2.3 of the CDOT Construction Manual and place an electronic original of the plans in ProjectWise Explorer / Project Share. If the project is on the national highway system (NHS), state highway system or state right of way, you must submit one half-size (11" x 17") set and one electronic set of as-constructed plans to the CDOT project manager. The as-constructed plans should include the location of underground obstructions, removals and all utility locations.

For projects that include construction of a major or minor structure, an additional set of as-constructed plans and specifications must be submitted electronically to CDOT Staff Bridge, per Section 19.6 of the Bridge Design Manual.

During this time the contractor continues to submit payrolls, materials documentation and survey books to you and finalizes quantities, clears up liens, and any outstanding items after final acceptance.

Additional information can be found in the FHWA video on Project Closeout.

A list of commonly required finals documentation can be found in the Additional Resources section of this website, under Final Documentation, Desk Reference Appendix F. Contact your CDOT project manager for region-specific requirements.

Materials Documents

You must submit all materials documents to the CDOT project manager within 30 days after final acceptance of the project. This includes:

• Form 250 Materials Documentation Record (generated by CDOT Materials)
• Form 473LA Letter of Final Materials Certification for a LA Project
• Form 379 Project Independent Assurance Sampling Schedule
• Page 1 of Form 1199 Finals Materials Documentation Checklist

Within 45 days after final acceptance of the project, you must submit all remaining finals documents, including the EEO package, to the CDOT project manager.

Remaining finals documents

You must designate one individual to be responsible for reviewing and processing final documentation as outlined in Section 100 of the CDOT Construction Manual and notify the CDOT project manager, electronically, of this designation. All project documentation should be checked and electronically signed by your agency using Adobe Sign. You will need to prepare the final pay estimate and your licensed professional engineer will complete the Local Agency Final Construction Acceptance Certification and submit them with an electronic signature to CDOT with the required forms designated in the certification.

EEO Certification Package

You should ensure that certified payrolls are received from all contractors for all personnel on the project. The certified payrolls must be checked for Davis-Bacon compliance by an individual who has attended the certified payroll training. Monthly interviews must be conducted and CDOT Form 280 Equal Employment Opportunity and Labor Compliance Verification kept in the project records.

You should ensure that approved CDOT Form 205 Sublet Permit Applications are in the file, along with CDOT Form 1418 Monthly Payment Summary and the final CDOT Form 1419 DBE Participation Report. The EEO certification letter must be completed and electronically signed by your agency and submitted to the CDOT project manager. You should place a copy in ProjectWise Explorer / Project Share.

CDOT Form 1419 DBE Participation Report

The contractor must complete CDOT Form 1419 DBE Participation Report and submit to you an original form or electronically route the form in Adobe Sign for electronic signatures. You should check the Form 1419 for completeness, attach copies of all supporting (approved) Form 1420 DBE Participation Plan Modification Request and forward the original, or electronically route, to your CDOT project manager.

The final Form 1419 must summarize all participation on the contract. Form 1419 should be completed even if the DBE goal is zero or there are no DBEs used on the project. You are responsible for evaluating progress toward the contract goal throughout the project.

If the contractor fails to fulfill the commitments or fails to meet the contract goal, the CDOT project manager and CDOT Region Civil Rights Manager will determine the applicable payment reduction. You will subject the contractor to a payment reduction at the end of the project, either by reduced payment or by held retainage.

If the payment reduction results in your agency not meeting your matching portion of the contract in accordance with the term of the IGA, you will issue a credit memo to CDOT/FHWA, with a copy to the CDOT project manager and the Region Civil Rights Manager. The credit memo will only be to the extent required to ensure the matching portion is met. Alternatively, CDOT will short pay your final request for reimbursement to withhold the payment reduction due to noncompliance with the terms of the IGA.

Refer to the Standard Special Provision Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Requirements for additional information.

Your CDOT project manager and the CDOT Region Civil Rights Manager will review your CDOT Form 1419 DBE Participation Report. If your contractor fails to fulfill the commitments or fails to meet the contract goal, the CDOT project manager will inform you of the applicable payment reduction.

After reviewing your final materials documentation, the CDOT project manager will complete page two of the CDOT Form 1199 Finals Materials Documentation Checklist.

You must resolve all liens, claims and disputes for contract adjustments before processing final payment to the contractor. You must review final pay quantities with the contractor. It is recommended that the contractor approve final pay quantities by an electronically signed statement. The CDOT Form 96 Contractor Acceptance of Final Estimate may be used for a signed statement. You should place a copy of the statement in ProjectWise / Explorer / Project Share

When all project costs have been established, you will issue final payment to the contractor.

You must prepare the final request for reimbursement (pay estimate) and route to the CDOT Resident Engineer using Adobe Sign within six months after project acceptance. If a time extension is needed, you will need to submit a letter of explanation to the CDOT project manager prior to the expiration of the six-month period or a minimum of 60 days prior to the performance period end date specified in the IGA. See Section 100 of the CDOT Construction Manual for more information.

CRITICAL POINT
This time frame assumes that project acceptance will occur in advance of the performance period end date specified in the IGA.

Your final billing to the CDOT project manager must include an electronically-signed letter requesting project closure and a statement indicating there will be no further billings.

You are required to retain project documentation in accordance with 2 CFR 200.333, Retention requirements for records,  for a period of three years following the date of submission of the final expenditure report.  This is know as the Record Retention Period and this date will be provided to you by your CDOT project manager at project close.

For records for real property and equipment, the Record Retention Period extends three years following final disposition of the property.  If any litigation, claim or audit related to a project starts before the expiration of the Record Retention Period, the Record Retention Period extends until all litigation, claims or audit findings have been resolved and final action is taken by a court having jurisdiction over the matter, by CDOT or by FHWA. 

Your agency may have additional retention requirements on federally-funded projects specific to your organization.

You should file applicable project records and supporting documents in ProjectWise Explorer / Project Share.