Lewis & Roberts represents a number of highway/heavy contractors, all of whom know that doing business with the North Carolina Department of Transportation requires careful attention to the agency's Standard Specifications for Roads and Structures. NCDOT's Standard Specs contain both front-end "General Requirements" (what would be called "General Conditions" on virtually any other public or private construction contract) and back-end standards for all aspects of highway work – from earthwork, pipe culverts, subgrade and asphalt pavements to signing, materials, pavement markings and electronic signalization.

As our highway/heavy clients also know, the NCDOT's Standard Specs are regularly revised every 4-6 years. Last year, NCDOT issued the 2012 version of its highway construction bible, updating the 2006 version. This article focuses on what we consider to be the ten most significant changes to NCDOT's front-end "General Requirements." As you will see below, these ten revisions affect how contractors obtain, perform and make claims on NCDOT work.

[Read full article, below].