Once the final designs have been prepared and needed right-of-way is purchased, construction bid packages are made available, a contractor is selected, and construction is initiated. During the right-of-way acquisition and construction stages, minor adjustments in the design may be necessary; therefore, there should be continuous involvement of the design team throughout these stages. Construction may be simple or complex and may require a few months to several years. Once construction has been completed, the facility is ready to begin its normal sequence of operations and maintenance.
Even after the completion of construction, the character of a road can be changed by inappropriate maintenance actions. For example, the replacement of sections of guardrail damaged or destroyed in crashes commonly utilizes whatever spare guardrail sections may be available to the local highway maintenance personnel at the time. The maintenance personnel may not be aware of the use of a special guardrail design to define the “character” of the highway. When special design treatments are used, ongoing operation and maintenance procedures acknowledging these unusual needs should be developed. The Oregon DOT, for example, has developed a special set of maintenance procedures for its scenic and historic highways.
Source: Flexibility in Highway Design p. 22
Published: 1997
