This report further emphasizes finding ways to settle disputes at their inception, before they become formal claims or lawsuits. The most common causes of disputes experienced by transportation agencies are design deficiencies, utility conflicts, and unknown site conditions.
Improved coordination can minimize problems with utility companies and other third parties.
Record Keeping Only one-half of the agencies surveyed reported having a systematic means of recording and tracking disputes and problems. Enhanced monitoring could provide a larger body of information on ways to avoid recurring problems, to identify escalating problems that could grow to a claim, and to minimize the overall costs of transportation projects. The limited data from the survey of agencies provides some evidence that the dollar amount recovered on disputes and the difference between the lowest and next lowest bidders are related. This suggests further research to investigate the relationship between extremely low bids and the occurrence of disputes. Steps could be taken to ensure that these efforts are initiated early in the design process.