01091600

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2081-07

http://scholar.google.com...wley&publication_year=2008

Liquidated damages (LDs) in highway construction contracts are daily monetary rates meant to compensate the owning agency for additional costs incurred because a project did not meet its completion date because of contractor delay. When LD provisions are challenged in court, provisions that lack proper documentation outlining the procedure used to determine rates have been deemed a penalty and unenforceable. This research effort sought to develop a methodology for developing a schedule of LD rates to be adopted by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). The procedure outlined is to be used periodically to review and update the LD rates found in ALDOT’s standard specifications for highway construction contracts, since their current schedule and review procedure has come under legal scrutiny. A statistically justifiable procedure was developed to calculate LD rates using historical project cost accounting data to create a traditional provision based on FHWA guidelines with the LD rates stipulated in a contract-size categorized table. The proposed procedure was then compared with a typical procedure used for developing LD rates. After comparisons, the proposed procedure stipulating LD rates in a table by contract value was determined to be the more robust method. The final product of this research is stepwise guidelines for practitioners to use on a periodic basis to review and update their schedule of LD rates.

01119086

English

pp 65-73

2008

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309125949

Print

Figures (5) ; References (8) ; Tables (5)

Contractors; Contracts; Law enforcement; Legal factors; Methodology; Road construction; Specifications; State highway departments

Alabama Department of Transportation

Compensation claims; Construction delays; Delay costs; Liquidated damages

Construction; Highways; Law; I50: Construction and Supervision of Construction

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 29 2008 4:42PM

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