Award and Construction

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Award & Construction

The Award and Construction phase formally begins after construction plans, specifications, and estimate (PS&E) are submitted and authorization is granted. This phase concludes when all construction work is completed and the resulting asset is accepted by the Federal Highway Administration (if federal funds are used) and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Operations.

Advertisement (Award Phase)

As the Local Public Agency (LPA), you must prepare a competitively bid advertisement that includes the following documents:

For the bid advertisement, the LPA must:

  • Provide a minimum bid period of three weeks.
  • Provide answers to all questions to all prospective bidders.
  • Provide points of clarification to all prospective bidders.
  • Provide amendments to all prospective bidders with enough time for changes to be considered.

As the Local Public Agency (LPA), you must award the contract to the lowest bidder and complete the following forms:

For state-funded projects you must:

For federally-funded projects you must:

  • Set a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal.
  • Verify that its contractors have made an adequate good-faith effort to provide DBEs subcontracting opportunities.
  • Verify that the DBE subcontractor is performing what is known as a "necessary and commercially useful function" on the project.

The DBE must submit the following forms:

The contractor must:

  • Review the advertisement package and contract documents for the preparation and submittal of bids.
  • Sign and return the contract to execute the contract.

Construction Phase

You, as the LPA, must hold a Pre-Construction Meeting with the NJDOT and selected contractor. You should alert the attendees, specifically the NJDOT Local Aid Project Manager, two weeks in advance of the meeting. During the meeting you must:

  • Provide a project overview and establishes initial project contacts.
  • Give Notice to Proceed (NTP) to the Contractor with a specified contract completion date.

Before construction can begin:

  • The meeting summary must be approved by all attendees.
  • NTP must be given three days prior.

Construction Progress Forms

As the LPA, you are responsible for completing and compiling all documentation to support payment of completed work. This is an important step so that only material or work that is delivered and completed is paid. You are required to inspect and verify the delivery and quality of materials along with the satisfactory incorporation into the project. It is in your, and the public’s, best interest for this to be completed in detail.

If your federally funded project has any iron or steel, it is required to follow all Buy America regulations. As the LPA, you should obtain all material certifications specific to your project prior to any installation. Please refer to the Buy America Handout for more information.

  • Documentation to support progress payments for completed work
  • Pay only for what’s delivered and documented
  • LPA is required to inspect and verify delivery and quality of materials and their satisfactory incorporation into the project
    • “You don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect!”
    • Protect the public interest
  • Buy America
    • Obtain certifications PRIOR to any installation, specific to a project and specified materials at hand
    • Requirements are applicable to all Federal-Aid projects

At times, design changes will be need to be made based on field observations once construction has begun. As the LPA, you should ensure that these changes meet the original application specifications and any and all supplemental work is negotiated and substantiated in writing.

This is also true for any time extension requests. You should ensure that the extension is negotiated and substantiated in writing. Weather, right-of-way, utilities, and/or railroad work are not typically a legitimate basis for excusable compensable delays.

    It is your responsibility to provide notice of construction to all permitting agencies.

      Project Closeout

      Construction ends upon written notification that the construction is complete. As the LPA, not closing out your project can prevent you from receiving more funding and ultimately result in NJDOT receiving less funding.

      As the LPA, you must perform the steps necessary to close out the consultant agreement:

      As the LPA, you must perform the steps necessary to close out the Consultant Inspection Agreement. You should check with your internal processes.

        Construction Complete

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