GENERAL
Correspondence concerning any phase of construction must be made a part of the project record and maintained in the project files.
The Division Engineer should receive a copy of all correspondence originating from the Resident Engineer's office. The State Construction Engineer and Area Construction Engineer should receive a copy of all non-routine correspondence pertaining to construction matters that originate from the Resident Engineer or Division Engineer's office.
Exception:
Copies of letters indicating the limits for the use of inmate labor, copies of Contractor submittals, letters transmitting concrete mix designs, copies of Contractor erosion control plans, routine erosion control inspections, and materials supplier lists forwarded to the
Materials & Tests Unit should not be forwarded to the State Construction Engineer and Area Construction Engineer. Borrow and/or waste site reclamation plans should be forwarded to the Area Construction Engineer, but not to the State Construction Engineer.
The Area Construction Engineer and the Regional Bridge Construction Engineer should receive a copy of all correspondence pertaining to structure construction matters on a project. In addition, the Division Engineer, State Construction Engineer, and Area Construction Engineer should be sent a copy of all appropriate non-routine letters received by the Resident Engineer from the Contractor. These can be transmitted on an information basis only or with recommendations if appropriate.
All correspondence received by the Resident Engineer from the Contractor should be promptly acknowledged within seven to ten days to the Contractor, in writing, as to its receipt. This acknowledgment may either contain a reply to the Contractor's correspondence or advise him that he will receive a reply at a later date.
All answers to written requests by the Contractor should be given in writing.
Any request from the Contractor received by the Resident Engineer should be immediately acknowledged and should be forwarded, if appropriate, to the Division Engineer along with the recommendations of the Resident Engineer. The Division Engineer should, if appropriate, forward the request and the Division's recommendations to the appropriate unit.
Several sections of the Specifications require the Contractor to make written requests or statements to the Department of Transportation on construction matters. These may involve extra work, requests for additional compensation, delays to his controlling operations, etc., and should not be taken by the Resident Engineer or his staff as a reflection upon them. These letters are a requirement of the Specifications and are necessary for the Contractor to receive consideration of his request.
Non-routine correspondence from the Contractor, such as requests for additional compensation, time extensions, etc., should be documented in the Weekly Project Report.
All correspondence from the Resident Engineer to the Contractor should be sent to the Contractor's main office unless otherwise requested by the Contractor. Copies may be sent to the Contractor's project manager or superintendent if deemed appropriate.
Any discussions with the Contractor where decisions were rendered relating to payment for work performed, method of construction, etc., should be addressed in writing to the Contractor documenting this discussion. An entry in the Weekly Project Report is not sufficient in itself because the Contractor does not have access to the Weekly Project Report until after payment of the final estimate and thus cannot take exception to the entry.
When writing internal correspondence within the Department, such as a letter to the Division Engineer,
copies should not be sent to the Contractor or any of his agents. The Resident Engineer should have no direct correspondence with a Subcontractor or supplier. The Contractor should be advised of any information requested by or necessary for the Subcontractor and it is the Contractor’s responsibility to advise his agents as he determines necessary.
CORRESPONDENCE BY EMAIL
The use of email has become a growing source of communication between both the Resident Engineer and the Contractor and the Resident Engineer and other Department offices. Email is a great tool to use for communication as it does provide a written form of documentation, but it is often used to request and provide information in an expedient manner. In such cases, the information provided is often not concise and clear to the recipient, which could result in a string of emails going back and forth. This could be eliminated if the email is treated as a formal letter, making sure all appropriate information is clearly provided, instead of a “casual” exchange of information.
Email that is received regarding a specific project is considered correspondence and should be handled in the same manner as formal written correspondence. A hard copy should be filed in the appropriate file folder and a written response should be sent to the original sender and any other person(s) deemed appropriate. Although email is electronic correspondence it is still subject to the Public Records Act regardless or not if it is printed.
Keep in mind that email is electronic correspondence, it can be modified, and therefore follow-up formal letters are strongly suggested. In addition, if correspondence such as letters and spreadsheets, is being sent via email, it should be sent as a pdf file or a scanned document. Note that pdf files and scanned files cannot be modified.
TIPS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
General Correspondence:
- All correspondence received by the Resident Engineer from the Contractor should be promptly acknowledged to the Contractor in writing as to the receipt within
7 to 10 days. The acknowledgement may contain a reply to the Contractor’s correspondence or if additional investigation is needed advise him that he will receive a reply at a later date.
- Minutes of project construction meetings should be completed within
7 to 10 days of the meeting. The minutes should be addressed to the Contractor and copies sent to the Division Engineer and meeting attendees.
- Provide detail when referencing the Specifications. Provide detail of the specification cited in correspondence as it pertains to your response (i.e. If the Contractor’s claim is not submitted in accordance with
Article 104-8, tell him specifically what is not in accordance with the specifications, such as “You failed to submit cost records within seven days of the end of your weekly period.”)
- Catalog correspondence in Resident Engineer’s Project files. Create a list of the subjects and dates of the correspondence contained in the file folder. The list should be placed in the front of the file folder. This is helpful when reviewing a claim and researching files for specific information.
- Make sure correspondence is sent to all parties responsible for subject information (i.e. Area Construction Engineer, Project Inspector, etc.).
- The State Construction Engineer should receive a copy of all non-routine correspondence pertaining to construction matters that originate from the Resident Engineer’s office, specifically issues regarding claims, project progress and significant changes in project plans.
- The Resident Engineer should document non-routine correspondence from the Contractor, such as requests for additional compensation, time extensions, etc. in the Weekly Project Report.
- Any discussions with the Contractor where decisions were rendered relating to payment for work performed, method of construction, etc. should be addressed in writing to the Contractor documenting this discussion within a week of the discussion.
Correspondence by Email:
- You may respond to a Contractor via email, but if there are successive emails regarding the same issue, you should begin corresponding with a formal letter and reference the previous email(s).
- All answers submitted to the Contractor via email should be followed with a formal letter or a hard copy of the email should become a part of the project file.
- If you are going to send the contractor correspondence such as letters and spreadsheets via email, it should be sent as a pdf file or a scanned document. Note that pdf files and scanned files cannot be modified.
