FHWA/MoDOT Partnering Agreements

CONSTRUCTION

May 2011

I. Roles and Responsibilities of MoDOT

MoDOT’s Role – Ensure the Construction Program performs in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations while implementing MoDOT’s Strategic Plan, related Business Plan, and the Blueprint for Roadway Safety priorities and goals. MoDOT Technical Support Engineers and district personnel will discuss significant contract changes, traffic control plan changes and VE studies with the FHWA Transportation Engineer in advance of document submittal. Provide complete and well-documented change orders two weeks prior to expected/required approval date. For our program area, the following tasks are considered the most important and we will work with FHWA as true partners to ensure success:

• Complete federal-aid highway construction projects on time and within budget while upholding the values of safety and quality.
• Send invitation to FHWA Operations Engineer for claim/dispute resolution meetings one week in advance and provide FHWA with a hard copy of all information on the claim as it becomes available.
• Provide consistent communication and direction to contractors regarding changes to federal and state regulation.
• MoDOT Technical Support Engineers and FHWA Transportation Engineers will work closely together to add the most value to individual projects and overall program. This should include at least one combined visit to discuss miscellaneous issues and offer support to operations staff, performing combined construction inspection, discussing project specific items ahead of time, and sharing information to present a unified voice to the districts.
• MoDOT”s Strategic and Unit Business plans will be developed and shared with FHWA in order to complement FHWA’s performance Plan and to ensure success for MoDOT and FHWA.
• Provide changes to constructions policies and specification to FHWA in a timely manner. Changes to construction policies and specifications require FHWA approval if they are to be used in Federal-Aid projects.
• Offer invitation to industry meetings to FHWA.

II. Roles and Responsibilities of FHWA

• Copies of project inspections will be sent to the State Construction & Materials Engineer within two weeks of completed inspection.
• Review and approve change orders on full oversight projects with two weeks of receiving them. MoDOT Division level change orders are defined in MoDOT's Engineering Policy Guide.
• Actively participate in contract claim awards and settlement meetings and discussions.
• In most cases, Transportation Engineers (TE’s) will provide at least one-week advance notice of project inspections to appropriate MoDOT district staff and Technical Support Engineers (TSE’s). TSE’s will be invited to accompany TE’s on their inspections. FHWA reserves the right to visit any federal- aid construction project at any time.
• Provide final acceptance within 15 days of receiving all documentation records from MoDOT so that final payment can occur.
• Provide detailed information on federal position statements and policy changes within two days of receiving information from Headquarters. Changes that effect MoDOT’s operating procedures/policies will be discussed through a meeting of appropriate staff.
• FHWA Transportation Engineers and MoDOT Technical support Engineers will work closely together to add the most value to individual projects and the overall program. This should include at least one combined visit to the district to discuss miscellaneous issues with operations staff and offer support, performing combined construction inspections, discussing project specific items ahead of time, and sharing information to present a unified voice to the districts.
• FHWA Performance Plan will be developed and shared with MoDOT in order to complement MoDOT’s Strategic and Construction Business plans and to ensure success for MoDOT and FHWA.

III. Ground Rules

We agree to concentrate efforts in improving our work by following these ground rules:

• We will respond to e-mails and telephone calls within two days unless out of the office during that time.
• We will communicate directly with each other by telephone, mail, e-mail and more importantly in face-to-face conversations.
• We will make every effort to make sure project information and/or decisions have the concurrence of both MoDOT district and Central Office staff.
• We will respect the roles and responsibilities of FHWA and MoDOT.
• We will strive to achieve mutual goals and strategic initiatives.
• Both parties recognize that there will be circumstances where a “waiver” from the completeness or timeliness criteria will be proposed. Waivers shall be well documented and agreed upon by both parties.
• We will revisit and revise this agreement every year and make revisions as necessary.
• We will participate in a regularly rescheduled meeting twice a year with the Construction & Materials Engineer and technical staff as needed to discuss items of mutual interest. Minutes of this meeting will be taken.

IV. Conflict Resolution

In case of conflict, we will resolve it at the lowest level by the FHWA Transportation Engineer working with MoDOT District Staff and Construction Liaison Engineer. If agreement cannot be reached after three weeks we agree to elevate the issue in the following manner:

• Elevate the discussion to the State Construction Materials Engineer and FHWA Operations Engineer.
• We will make every effort to solve the conflict at our level, but after no more than two weeks after hearing from the parties involved, we will present our cases both verbally and in writing to MoDOT’s Director of Program Delivery and the FHWA Assistant Division Administrator.
• We will abide by their decision and will share that decision with staff.

V. Performance Evaluation

We will measure our partnering progress and success by the following performance indicators:

• 90% of projects completed on time as specified in the contract.
• Construction project completion costs versus award amount will be within 2%
• A minimum of 5 project inspections will be performed through joint effort of FHWA Technical Engineers and MoDOT Technical Support Engineers.
• Project final acceptance completed as agreed.

VI. Communications with Management

We will keep management informed of our activities and how our partnering is working by:

• Communicate important or controversial issues to management immediately as they arise. Use the no surprise philosophy.
• We will provide management with minutes of our semi-annual meetings.
• Complete an annual report, which summarize performance indicators and outlines significant achievements.