Flowchart 9: Construction Process

If you are using federal funds for a project, you are required to provide an "employee in responsible charge" of the project. This person must be a full-time employee of your agency, and does not have to be an engineer or dedicated full time to a project. This person is responsible for supervising all project administration activities and coordinates with CDOT based on the assignment of responsibilities.

In addition to the employee in responsible charge, you must also provide a professional engineer in responsible charge of construction supervision. The professional engineer (PE) may be an employee of your agency or may be a consultant. The administrative employee in responsible charge and the PE in responsible charge of construction supervision may be the same person if your agency's employee is a registered Colorado PE who is also overseeing the engineering aspects of the job.

Construction management consists of inspection and testing services, including quality assurance inspections during the fabrication process. Your project manager should refer to the latest version of the CDOT Construction Manual, the CDOT Bridge Manuals and the CDOT Field Materials Manual for more detailed information on construction management, fabrication inspection and materials testing. Section 122 of the CDOT Construction Manual contains information specific to the administration of local agency projects.

When you are ready to begin a construction project, the first step is to notify CDOT. This must be done by the designated employee in responsible charge of the project for your agency. You must notify the CDOT project manager prior to commencement of work and are responsible for updating the CDOT project manager when issues arise on the project. You should also notify the CDOT project manager and the Bridge Inspection Unit prior to fabrication of structural items, and identify the inspectors responsible for quality assurance during fabrication. Notices shall be in electronic format.

Your CDOT project manager provides oversight of the construction project as assigned on CDOT Form 1243: Local Agency Contract Administration Checklist.

For more information, refer to the FHWA video: Introduction to project construction and contract administration.

You are required to provide competent, experienced staff to ensure the contract work is constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications. The CDOT Construction Manual describes the Construction Inspector Qualification Program and training requirements in Section 101.103.7. Certain local agency projects require inspectors to have successfully completed training and certification. For projects that are constructed within any part of CDOT right of way or within any roadway template that add lanes, or include work activity requirements as determined by the CDOT project manager, this certification is required.

During construction, your project is subject to routine and random project reviews by CDOT to ensure you are administering the project in accordance with the terms of the contract and project agreement. FHWA may participate in these reviews or conduct its own separate reviews.

You are required to oversee the contractor's work until the project is complete and review the contractor's requests for reimbursement on a monthly basis. You are also required to review the contractor's submittals, which include materials documentation, shop drawings, monthly schedule updates, traffic management plans, certified payrolls and certifications, and Form 205: Sublet Permit Application, as applicable. You should review the signed Form 262: Weekly Time Count Report and Form 263: Weekly Time Count Report, Calendar Days. The contractor should help identify the need for change orders, contact involved utility and railroad representatives to schedule the performance of the work as set forth in the project plans and specifications, and coordinate the work with the construction activities.

Refer to the following FHWA videos for more information on your supervision responsibilities during construction and your contractor's responsibilities:

• Supervising Agency Requirements
• Job Site Posters
• Buy America Field Compliance
• Job Site Posters Compliance
• Job Site Worker Safety
• Contractor Payroll Submittals and Statements of Compliance

The contractor must submit a project schedule in electronic format to your agency before the project begins and must submit monthly schedule updates to you for review with monthly billings. It is recommended that you conduct weekly progress meetings with the contractor to monitor the progress of the project and to be able to plan effectively.

Refer to the contract and also Section 100 of the CDOT Construction Manual for more information. Accurate, realistic schedules and updates are critical if you need to evaluate a dispute and/or claim.

Your agency should keep daily diaries of all activities on the project. For additional information on project diaries, refer to Section 100 of the CDOT Construction Manual. Diaries will also assist you in cases of disputes, claims or lawsuits.

Refer to the contract documents for time count requirements for your project. Most contracts require you to furnish a weekly statement to the contractor showing the days charged on the project. Use CDOT Form 262: Weekly Time Count Report – Work Days or CDOT Form 263: Weekly Time Count Report – Calendar Days to indicate the number of days charged. Refer to subsection 108.08 of the CDOT Standard Specification Book, and Section 100 and Appendix B of the CDOT Construction Manual for a more thorough explanation of time counts.

For more information, refer to the FHWA video: Contract time and schedule management.

Form FHWA 1273
FHWA requires that Form FHWA 1273: Required Contract Provisions (for) Federal-aid Construction Contracts be physically incorporated in each construction contract, and in all lower-tier subcontracts. Your contract with the contractor, and all contracts between the contractor and any subcontractors must include the Form FHWA 1273. Learn more through the FHWA video on Nondiscrimination Requirements on Construction Contracts.

CDOT Form 205
Before the contractor is allowed to subcontract any work, a CDOT Form 205: Sublet Permit Application must be completed and submitted to your agency for approval. You should require the contractor to complete a separate Form 205 for each subcontractor—including for professional services and trucking companies. You should check each form for accuracy prior to signing, and submit the original signed form to your CDOT project manager. The subcontractor should not be allow to begin work until the Form 205 has been reviewed and approved by your agency, and the subcontract has been fully executed between the contractor and the subcontractor. Your agency and CDOT have the right to request the physical subcontracts.

To expedite a subcontractor's start date, your contractor may email a signed copy of the Form 205 to your project engineer. The contractor must not delay in forwarding the signed original Form 205 to your project engineer. Refer to the CDOT Construction Manual for instructions on completing and checking the Form 205. Additionally, you may contact your CDOT project manager with any questions.

Your agency is responsible for inspecting and documenting the contractor's work. The CDOT Construction Manual gives guidelines on how each item should be inspected and documented.

You are required to monitor the contractor's day-to-day conformity to EEO, Title VI and labor compliance contract requirements. CDOT's region civil rights manager may perform an EEO project compliance review on your project. Please keep in mind that the regional civil rights manager is available to your agency as a resource. CDOT's Title VI coordinator is also available as a resource on Title VI and environmental justice issues.

Additional information can be found in chapter 10 of the CDOT Local Agency Desk Reference, available in the resource section of this website.

"Shop drawing" is a general term that includes drawings, diagrams, illustrations, samples, schedules, calculations and other data that provide details of the construction of the work and details to be used for inspection. You are required to review shop drawings submitted to you for formal review by the contractor. Shop drawings should be submitted in electronic format.

CDOT's Standard Specification Book defines which items require shop drawings. Your agency will review and mark the shop drawings, and return them to the contractor in accordance with CDOT specifications. The drawings must be marked with one of the following:

For projects constructed within any part of a CDOT right of way, the contractor must submit shop drawings to you for formal review, and your agency will view and mark the shop drawings and forward them to the CDOT project manager, who will review with CDOT specialty unit staff. Upon completion of the review, CDOT will return the shop drawings to you for further discussion with the contractor.

Your agency is responsible for monitoring the day-to-day DBE participation and notifying the CDOT project manager if it appears that a DBE is not performing in accordance with CDOT Form 1417: Approved DBE Participation Plan. It is important that you understand the concepts of eligible participation and commercially useful function as they apply to DBE participation. If any fraud or misrepresentation of DBE participation is suspected, you should contact your CDOT project manager.

For more information, refer to the latest version of the standard special provision, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Requirements.

Form 1419: DBE Participation Report
You must forward the contractor's quarterly submittal of Form 1419-DBE Participation Report (Jan. 15, April 15, July 15 and Oct. 15) ni electronic format to your CDOT project manager and the regional civil rights manager. You must also forward the final Form 1419: DBE Participation Report, which summarizes all participation on the contract, to your CDOT project manager and the regional civil rights manager in electronic format.

Form 1420: DBE Participation Plan Modification Request
During the performance of the contract, the contractor must use Form 1420: DBE Participation Plan Modification Request to communicate to you all requests for termination, reduction, substitution and waivers. You should work with the CDOT regional civil rights manager and CDOT project manager to resolve any concerns regarding Form 1420. No commitment shall be terminated or reduced without the CDOT regional civil rights manager's approval. You should forward a copy of the signed, approved Form 1420 in electronic format to your CDOT project manager and the regional civil rights manager.

CDOT Form 250: Materials Documentation Record is used to track materials used on a project, the number of tests needed and to identify the forms used to record test results. The form designates test frequencies for project acceptance testing and laboratory check testing.

The initial Form 250 is developed from the award set of plans and specifications, and is based on quantities in unit measures consistent with CDOT format. CDOT typically provides Form 250 to you.

Refer to Flowchart 9C: Materials for more details about project acceptance testing and laboratory check testing of materials during construction.

Buy America
FHWA's Buy America policies require a domestic manufacturing process for all steel or iron products (including donated materials) that are permanently incorporated in a federal-aid highway construction project. For definitions of steel and iron products, refer to the Special Notice to Contractors in the CDOT Field Materials Manual. The FHWA Buy America statutory provisions are found in 23 U.S.C. 313, and the regulatory provisions are in 23 CFR 635.410. Also refer to Section 106.11 of the CDOT Construction Manual for Buy America requirements.

Prior to the permanent incorporation of steel or iron products into the project, you must obtain from the contractor a written statement, signed by the contractor, that the certifications required by the Buy America specification are on file, and the steel or iron projects are in compliance with the Buy America specifications. Additionally, a certification for Buy America requirements will be required from the contractor at the completion of all projects, even if steel or iron is not incorporated into the project.

Manufactured Products
Manufactured products are typically accepted based on pre-inspection (PI), certified test reports (CTR), certificates of compliance (COC), pre-approval (APL, listed on CDOT's approved products list website), or a combination thereof. In specific industries, the manufacturers must first be listed on the qualified manufacturers list (QML) before product acceptance can be considered. Refer to the Special Notice to Contractors in the CDOT Field Materials Manual.

Construction survey work consists of performing surveying, related computations and staking necessary for the construction of all elements of the project.

Final monumentation must be done after the right of way is purchased. Right-of-way monuments shall be set at each point designated on the right-of-way plans, and in accordance with the Colorado Revised Statutes. This work must be performed under the direct supervision of a professional land surveyor, registered in the state of Colorado.

Pay Documentation
You are required to maintain written documentation to support all contractor payments. Section 100 of the CDOT Construction Manual contains guidelines on how to document pay quantities. Item documentation must include the project number, item number, work description, date, specific location on the project, method of measurement, quantity paid and signature of inspector.

Force Account Work
For force account work performed by the contractor, federal funds cannot be used for equipment rental rates that exceed those in The Rental Rate Blue Book for Construction Equipment. Rates for owned or long-term leased equipment that exceed the Blue Book rates are not eligible for federal participation. Actual rental rates may be reimbursed at rental rate invoice cost for that specific task. Your CDOT project manager can assist with providing rental rate information. You must carefully track work that will be paid by force account using CDOT Form 10: Inspector's Report for Force Account Work. Additionally, your contractor is required to submit certified payrolls in electronic format to you for force account work.

Change orders
Refer to Flowchart 9B for more specific information about the change order process.

Change orders, also called Minor Contract Revisions (MCRs) and Contract Modification Orders (CMOs), are needed for changes to specifications, design, contract time, scope of work, project limits and typical section, as detailed in Section 120.7 of the CDOT Construction Manual. See Appendix C of the CDOT Construction Manual for example change orders.

You should discuss all change orders with your CDOT project manager or resident engineer (and with FHWA on full oversight projects), and receive written approval prior to commencing any work. It is your responsibility to follow up with the CDOT project manager/resident engineer and FHWA, if applicable, to obtain the signatures on the original change order.

Progress Reports
You are required to prepare and submit in electronic format to your CDOT project manager an update for every active construction project by the first of every month. The update should include work progress over the past month, percent completed, time charged, outstanding issues and projected completion date of the project.

Reimbursement Requests
You should submit billing charges, also known as requests for reimbursement or reimbursement requests, once a month or less frequently to the CDOT project manager during construction and at completion. You should make certain that you discuss any CDOT region-specific billing procedures and required documentation during development of your IGA. Refer to Flowchart 9A for additional information on the reimbursement process.

Financial Status
Your agency must continually monitor the financial status of the project. If additional funds are needed, your agency is responsible for assuring the funds are available in as timely a manner as possible. Your agency must provide the additional funding unless federal participation has been approved in advance.

Your project engineer must review and approve all methods of handling traffic (MHT) prior to use. You must verify that all traffic control is in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and contract requirements. If the MHT shows that a vertical or horizontal clearance will be restricted by construction activities (see subsection 630.10, items (8) and (9) of the CDOT Standard Specifications), your project engineer must use the notification procedures described in the CDOT Construction Manual, subsection 630.2.4, Review of Method of Handling Traffic.

If a speed limit reduction is specified in an MHT, you must execute a CDOT Form 568: Authorization and Declaration of Temporary Speed Limits.

Your project engineer and the CDOT project manager will make joint traffic control reviews once each calendar year for each active construction project. See Section 630 of the CDOT Construction Manual for more information. It is recommended that you use CDOT's Traffic Control Review Form as a reference when checking traffic control. If your project is to be constructed partially within or within a CDOT right of way, all MHTs must be reviewed and approved by the CDOT project manager and your project engineer.

For more information, refer to the FHWA video: Worker zone traffic control reviews.

For project claims and disputes, you must follow the claims procedure established and contained in the construction contract, and can use the CDOT disputes and claims procedure. You must coordinate resolution of claims that involve federal participation with CDOT. You should document all claim payments on a properly executed change order.