STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:

During the pre-construction phase of the Delta Township WRRF, the provision and installation of temporary haul roads was unfortunately overlooked. The result of unforeseen costs associated with building these temporary haul roads required large portions of the budget allowance to be used. In addition to the oversight of moneys allocated for temporary roads, a lack of foresight when designing and implementing the temporary haul roads resulted in multiple adjustments in order to accommodate project progress. By neglecting to account for project progress, CCC was solely responsible for the costs associated with making said adjustments - totaling $456,385.00 in haul road related change orders to the excavation contractor before the project had even hit the 75% completion point.

Cost breakdown for the attached haul road adjustment:
 - Materials = $185,000.00
 - Labor = $45,000.00
 - Equipment = $42,000.00
 - Trucking Spoils = $40,000.00
 - TOTAL = $312,000.00
(this was the original quote and after the course of action detailed below was taken, the quote was reduced to $161,000.00)

ROOT CAUSE:

The root cause of this issue was a combination of two events:
1. Neglecting to include an allowance or budget item in the bid for temporary roads
2. Building a haul road without accounting for project progress will result in costly adjustments

COURSE OF ACTION:

To mitigate any future adjustments to the temporary haul road, CCC project management and leadership personnel reviewed the current and future site conditions, and designed a logistics plan that will accommodate project progress and recoup some of the costs associated with past adjustments. By allowing the excavation contractor to use borrow material from the temporary haul roads for backfill in grassy areas, CCC will be credited for any unused materials originally accounted for at bid time. Further, the 1"-3" crushed limestone used to create the temporary haul roads can be reused as a substitute for the base material in building the future paved roads at the end of the project. The unused materials originally accounted for at bid time to build the base for those future roads can be credited back to CCC. Lastly, any borrow material excavated from upcoming project activities will be stored on site and used to backfill the haul road to final grade and avoid needing to pay the excavation contractor for new material.  

LESSON FOR FUTURE PROJECTS:

1. When bidding a project, thoroughly review the existing site conditions and verify whether a subcontractor has included temporary haul roads in their bid or if an allowance for haul roads in needed.
2. When designing a haul road and logistics plan that will be used for the duration of a project, keep project progress in mind and adjust accordingly.
3. Do not let one person call all the shots on the site layout and logistics of a project. Work as a team to develop a plan that centers around the input of everyone, including subcontractors. 
4. If the specifications dictate borrow material/spoils may be used for backfill in certain areas, utilize it and save money by avoiding trucking new material in.