Speed Project Closeouts and Streamline Local Financing

This study has identified the general causes of numerous issues that slow or prevent project closeout and recommends actions that address these causes. With a flow diagram of a generic procedure for public closeout as a point of departure, the New York State Department of Transportation's (NYSDOT's) current procedure was diagramed. Then, having identified "time of the essence" as an inherent flaw in the NYSDOT process that prevented it from determining the point at which it was entitled to treat a contractor as having waived its rights to the final retainage amount, and armed with reviews of relevant sections of the Court of Claims Act, State Finance Law, the State Highway Law and case law, it was determined that two years should be set as the legal "time of the essence" limit for settling closeout claims. Following upon this, NYSDOT's current procedure was modified and recommended for adoption and implementation. Three draft letters of notification and instruction to contractors were recommended for adoption.

• Corporate Authors:

  University Transportation Research Center

  City College of New York
  Marshak Hall, Suite 910, 160 Convent Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10031

  New York State Department of Transportation

  50 Wolf Road, POD 34
  Albany, NY  United States  12232-0869

  Department of Transportation

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Parker, Neville
  • Baker, Robert F
  • Kamga, Camille
• Publication Date: 2005-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References;
• Pagination: 36p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Contractors; Contracts; Financing; Flow charts; Laws; Legal factors; Legal rights; Procedures; Project management; State departments of transportation
• Identifier Terms: New York State Department of Transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Project closeouts; Time of the essence
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Highways; Law; Planning and Forecasting; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01001200
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 55657-11-15, NYSDOT Project C-01-60
• Files: UTC, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 23 2005 5:57PM