PART ISPECIFICATIONS FOR STREET ROADWAY PAVEMENTS

INTRODUCTORY

In addition to their value as memoranda and aids in preparing specifications for a particular project, carefully prepared general specifications, embodying the latest approved practice, sometimes supply the most useful and acceptable brief treatises upon any particular branch of engineering work. It has been partly with this thought in mind that the following set of specifications for standard street pavements has been prepared and is now offered to city engineers and municipal authorities.

To widen their range and increase their usefulness, copious foot notes have been added, referring to alternative requirements and methods of construction, and giving some of the reasons for the preference or adoption of the construction called for in the specifications. It is recognized that in a good many matters of detail embraced in these specifications there is difference of opinion among able engineers, many of whom are at least as competent as the writer to determine what is best. They are not offered in a dogmatic spirit, or with the hope that all the provisions found therein will be accepted. If they shall be of some assistance in bringing about correct standards for such specifications, their preparation will have been justified.

Theoretically, three general classes of engineering specifications may be noted. In the first, the aim of the engineer is to specify the end or result that it is desired to secure, leaving the contractor free to originate and follow the methods by which these results are to be attained. In the second the engineer aims to secure the desired end by specifying in detail the materials and the methods which in his opinion will accomplish the purpose, he himself assuming responsibility for the results. Either of these two classes of specifications is permissible, and the engineer may choose the one which in his opinion seems best adapted to the character of the work to be done, and the conditions under which it must be prosecuted.

In the third class of specifications, met with more frequently than they should be, the engineer undertakes to prescribe not only the character of the materials to be used and the methods to be pursued, but also the results to be attained. The position thus assumed is illogical, and often unreasonable, and may lead to complicationsbetween the engineer and the contractor. If a contractor be required to turn out a product which shall conform to certain standards, he may properly be given much, if not full latitude, as to how the stipulated results shall be secured, and may be held fully responsible for the outcome; if on the other hand the engineer chooses to specify with more or less minuteness the character of the materials to be used and the methods of construction to be followed, and enforces compliance therewith, it seems fair and just that he should assume responsibility for the results produced, and therefore unfair to hold the contractor to responsibility for consequences arising from the use of materials and methods which he was allowed no choice or latitude in selecting.

In street paving work, of well-known and standard character, the second class of specifications seems preferable for a number of reasons, the leading one being that the time required to develop the good or bad quality of the work must usually extend over a considerable number of years, and the conditions to which the pavement may be subjected in the meantime are likely to vary so widely that it may be very difficult, if not impossible, to prescribe a satisfactory standard of service and endurance. Disputes are therefore liable to arise between the municipality and the contractor as to the latter’s liability, or conditions may make it difficult or impossible to hold the contractor to strict account for that liability.

It is believed that in the present state of the art it is entirely practicable to so frame specifications for the materials to be used and the methods to be followed in the construction of standard street pavements, and to so enforce compliance therewith, that the engineer and the municipality may safely assume responsibility for the quality of the work produced. While it may be true that local conditions sometimes make it very difficult to enforce compliance with specifications, the same conditions are likely to make it at least equally difficult to secure effective responsibility on the part of the contractor for any long-period guarantee of the work done by him; and the contractor who negligently or purposely violates the specifications during construction is not likely to be more faithful or scrupulous in living up to any guarantees he may make with regard to the future, even where the terms and conditions of such guarantees may be clearly defined and indisputable. The writer has discussed the subject of time guarantees as applied to street pavements pretty fully in his book, “Municipal Public Works,” and the above brief statement seems all that is necessary here.

In conformity with this view of the matter, the following specifications aim to set out as definitely and clearly as practicable the requirements for the construction of good pavements of the several standard kinds, and it is assumed that the engineer will be able to, and will enforce them.

It is, however, not infrequently the case that the engineer will be called upon to prepare specifications for new, or patented, or proprietary pavements advocated by their promoters, the value or usefulness of which have not been sufficiently established by experience, and for which the data for detailed, definite specifications are not yet available.

In such cases the wisest course to follow is to confine the precise specifications to the general or standard parts of the work, while stipulating only theresults to be attainedwith regard to those features of the work that are proprietary or questionable, thus placing upon the promoter or his contractors full responsibility for such results as are promised or guaranteed. This applies to new or comparatively untried materials or processes, whether patented or not.

A proposed form of general specifications to cover such cases is offered herein.

It is usually unwise to adopt or to incorporate in the municipal specifications those prepared or offered by the promoter or patentee, which are often brief, incomplete, and indefinite, and are sometimes carefully, and even cunningly, drawn to evade final responsibility.

No attempt has been made to submit specifications for proprietary or patented pavements, or those composed wholly or in part of materials which are patented or protected by trade-marks. The owners or contractors engaged in constructing these pavements, often, if not usually, claim the right to dictate the material parts of the specifications under which such work shall be done, and the municipal engineer who is called upon to construct such pavements, must, in each case, determine whether the specifications offered are adequate and satisfactory, and the extent to which he feels justified in accepting responsibility for the results. Naturally, the contractor or promoter, even if competent to prepare specifications, cannot be expected to bind himself within closer limits than he thinks necessary to secure the work. In many such cases the form of general specifications for “untried or experimental pavements” given herein might appropriately be used.

The engineer is, in common with all men, fallible, and he can hardly hope, in the preparation of specifications, to make themperfect; to cover every item and particular; or to escape some ambiguities of expression, and some degree of indefiniteness. The writer can only claim that he has aimed, in the light of a considerable experience, to set out as fully and definitely as practicable the requirements for the proper construction of high-class street pavements, and has endeavored to avoid loose or obscure terms and expressions. The ideal specification is one that furnishes a wholly sufficient guide to the accomplishment of the desired purpose; that provides for every possible contingency which may arise, and is couched in language which not only means exactly what it was intended to mean, but is incapable of any other interpretation. It is needless to say that no example of such a perfect specification can be instanced as a model.

It has been the aim to make these specifications fair and just to the contractor; that is, to require of him no impracticable or indefinite service, or the assumption by him of risks other than those fairly involved in the business conduct of the work.

If the plans and specifications for any work which a contractor bids upon are so full, specific, and clear, that he may know exactly what he will be expected to do, and if they do not require him to assume unusual chances and risks, he may intelligently name prices which he believes will compensate him for the service. Having done so, his proposal having been accepted, and a contract entered into accordingly, the engineer and the municipality have a right both in law and equity to demand that he will do exactly and fully what he has contracted to do. No excuses on his part can be valid and none should be accepted. He may in all fairness and justness be required to “toe the mark” strictly. To the neglect to recognize and enforce these principles is chargeable the greater part of the poor and unsatisfactory work so common in street pavement work in our cities. Unexpected contingencies may, of course, arise where some changes and concessions may be proper and just, but these should be, and usually are, very rare. On the other hand, sweeping general clauses in contracts and specifications intended to catch the contractor “goin’ or comin’,” unnecessarily stringent stipulations which were never intended to be strictly enforced, but were put into the specifications with the idea that they would help hold the contractor up to a high standard, and “one-sided” contracts intended to give the municipality an unfair advantage over the contractor, are as inadvisable in policy as they are wrong in principle. Nothing should be put in a specification that is not clearly essential to securethe results aimed at, and, this having been done, every requirement should be enforced. The existence in specifications of requirements that are not intended to be enforced, gives the contractor a pretext for neglecting others that may be important.

In these specifications will be found a number of details that are often not regarded as important and which, when found in paving specifications, the contractor is frequently allowed to ignore. In the writer’s opinion, based upon his experience in street paving, every one of these requirements is essential to the production of high-class work, which, it is hardly necessary to argue, is, in the end, the most economical work from the standpoint of the municipality.

It may be argued that the adoption and enforcement of these specifications would have the effect of raising prices. In many cases this would doubtless prove true. Contractors are entitled to a fair and reasonable compensation for their services. It is admitted that in some cities the prevailing prices for some kinds of pavements are below the actual cost of the work if it were done in a proper manner, conforming strictly to the specifications. Illogical as it undoubtedly is, the low price at which work is taken is sometimes considered a sufficient reason for accepting work below standard. The consequence is that bidders not only count upon concessions and lax enforcement of the specifications, but bid lower and lower, expecting that further concessions will enable them to get out with an undeserved profit. This is one of the most serious evils in the paving business to-day, and the highest public interests demand a thorough reform. Low first cost, desirable as it may be, is the poorest economy if it be secured at the sacrifice of the quality of the work. If one pavement costs twenty per cent. more than another, but renders forty per cent. more service, it is obviously the cheaper of the two.

Contractors are prone to contend that this or that provision in a specification is unusual, unnecessary or unfair. In dealing with them the engineer should bear in mind that no requirement of a specification that is clearly and definitely stated, so that the bidder may understand exactly what it means and what he will be expected to do, and may frame his prices accordingly, can be unreasonable or unfair to the contractor. Unusual or unnecessary requirements may result in unwarrantably increasing the cost of the work, and this may raise a question between the engineer and the municipality employing him, but it can furnish no occasion for questions of fairness or unfairness between the contractor and the engineer.

The relations that should exist between the contractee and the contractor, and the attitude of the engineer toward the contractor have been widely discussed and are quite well understood from both the ethical and legal standpoint.

It is well to bear in mind that when a contract is duly entered into, both the parties thereto are equal before the law. Neither can impose upon the other terms or conditions that are not clearly included in or to be fairly inferred from the contract itself. The assumption that either party has superior or extra rights not expressed or to be fairly inferred from the written agreement, or in accordance with the established rulings of the courts, is wholly without warrant. The smallest contractor is, in this respect, upon an equal footing with the largest city government for which he may undertake to do contract work. It is not infrequently the case that the city assumes a superior and dictatorial attitude not in harmony with these principles, and it is too common for the contractor to seek to evade or to escape from clear contractural obligations. In neither case is the action warranted by fairness, justice, or law.

It should be needless to say that the attitude of the engineer toward the contractor should be one of unyielding and uncompromising requirement that the contract and specifications shall be fully and faithfully complied with, but at the same time one of absolute fairness and even helpfulness to the contractor. The ideal relation, which should be more commonly attainable than it appears to be, is that of helpful cooperation to bring about the results the contract and specifications were intended to secure.

In line with the principles here outlined some observations upon the preparation of contracts and specifications are appropriate.

It is the general practice to include in and make a part of “The Contract” (herein for convenience called The General Contract) all the various documents that are supposed to relate directly to the transaction as a whole. The separate parts of such a general contract may vary in number or character, but the principal ones are the following:

1. The advertisement for proposals.

2. Instructions to bidders.

3. The proposal submitted.

4. The contract proper.

5. The specifications.

Each of these should be drawn to cover fully and clearly its appropriate purpose or function butnothing more. It is not unusualto find, even in the instructions to bidders, stipulations that properly belong in the contract or specifications, and it is quite common to find in the contract proper a lot of matter that properly belongs in the specifications only. In such cases there is liable to be more or less confusion as to the actual meaning or requirements of the general contract as a whole, which may lead to serious misunderstandings and complications between the parties thereto. The several documents composing the general contract are likely to be prepared by different persons, looking at the transaction from different points of view, and often not wholly familiar with the scope, intent and language of the other documents. There is therefore a possibility, at least, of indefinite, if not of conflicting expressions which are open to different interpretations, particularly in the light of special or unexpected conditions that may arise during the progress of the work or the settlement therefor. It would tend to eliminate or avoid the possibility of such complications if each of the several documents confined itself strictly to its appropriate function in the general contract.

Advertisements for proposals may be divided into two general classes. The one is brief in form and substance, simply stating that proposals for a certain named work will be received at a stated place and time, and referring those interested to documents on file at a stated place for all further information. This is the general form adopted by the United States War Department for the many projects carried out by contract under its direction. A sample advertisement taken from a current technical journal is as follows;

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF the Supervising Architect, Washington, D. C., October 10, 1912. Sealed Proposals will be received at this office until 3 o’clock p. m. on the 1st day of November, 1912, and then opened, for an electric passenger elevator in the United States post office, Bellingham, Wash., in accordance with the drawing and specification, copies of which may be had at this office at the discretion of the Supervising Architect. OSCAR WENDEROTH, Supervising Architect.

The other general class of advertisement, very commonly used by municipal corporations, is much longer and more elaborate, giving a condensed statement of the character of the work to be done, the conditions under which proposals are invited and will be received, and a schedule of the quantities of work involved, togetherwith other particulars. A typical example of such an advertisement, taken from the same periodical, is here given:

PUMPING MACHINERY—ROSELAND PUMPING STATIONDEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

PUMPING MACHINERY—ROSELAND PUMPING STATION

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Chicago, Ill., October 2, 1912.

Sealed proposals will be received by the City of Chicago until 11 A. M. Wednesday, October 30, 1912, at Room 406, City Hall, for furnishing and erecting at Roseland Pumping Station one vertical triple expansion crank and fly wheel pumping engine of a capacity of twenty-five million (25,000,000) gallons per day against a normal head of one hundred and forty feet (140′). This proposal also includes the dismantling of a similar engine now at Lake View Pumping Station, transporting and erecting it at Roseland Pumping Station, together with the furnishing and erection of certain auxiliaries and appurtenances, according to plans and specifications on file in the office of the Department of Public Works of said city, Room 406, City Hall.

Proposals must be made out upon blanks furnished at said office, and be addressed to said Department, indorsed “Proposals for Pumping Machinery, Roseland Pumping Station,” and be accompanied with Five Thousand ($5,000) Dollars in money or a certified check for the same amount on some responsible bank located and doing business in the City of Chicago and made payable to the order of the Commissioner of Public Works.

The Commissioner of Public Works reserves the right to reject any or all bids. A deposit of One Hundred Dollars ($100) will be required to insure safe return of the plans.

No proposal will be considered unless the party offering it shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public Works of his ability, and that he has the necessary facilities together with sufficient pecuniary resources to fulfill the conditions of the Contract and Specifications, provided such Contract should be awarded to him.

Companies or firms bidding will give the individual names as well as the name of the firm with their address.

L. E. McGANN,Commissioner of Public Works.

L. E. McGANN,

Commissioner of Public Works.

Such advertisements as this may be required by statutes or ordinances, and in that case are, of course, proper and necessary. Even where not so required they may be considered advantageous, because they give prospective bidders more complete information as to the character and magnitude of the work, and may enable them to decide at once whether they care to pursue the matter further. But on the whole, the shorter form of advertisement, if permissible, seems preferable, because it refers the enquirer directly to the original and official sources of information, the forms to be used, the contract, specifications and estimated quantities of work, exactly as they will and must be presented to all bidders, and as they will appear in the subsequent stages of the transaction, and leaves, therefore, no room for possible confusion of statements between the advertisement and the other documents. Furthermore, the cost of the shorter form of advertisement is much less, and this is often a matter of some importance.

Instructions to bidders should be confined strictly to such information and directions as the bidder may need to properly and intelligently make up and submit his proposal in accordance with the requirements relating thereto. This should include primarily, a reference to the contract and specifications for all general and detailed information about the work to be done, but should carefully avoid any statements or language that might be construed to add to, take from, limit or modify the contract or specifications. Perhaps the briefest and best statement of what this document should or should not contain is that it should be so framed that, except as a matter of record, its office and usefulness should absolutely end with the award and signing of the contract.

No one who is not a lawyer can presume to say just what the contract proper should contain or cover, particularly as this may vary with the requirements of statutes and ordinances in force in a given city. It would seem logical and proper, however, to separate the special functions of contracts and specifications in such a way that each should cover a distinct field of its own, and be free from encroachment upon the proper domain of the other. With such a conception of the proper domain of each, one might safely say that the contract should undertake to set out only the legal and contractural relations of the parties thereto, and should refer to the plans and specifications for all detailed instructions as to the actual performance of the work and the results to be secured.

In the preparation of specifications for any public work the mainpoints to be kept in mind are fulness, definiteness, and exact expression. While brevity and conciseness are desirable qualities in any document, they should not be secured at the expense of completeness and precision of statement. Even the frequent repetition of words, phrases and sentences throughout a document, where it is necessary to avoid the possibility of misunderstanding or ambiguity, should be resorted to freely. Exact description and definition are more important than literary style, though they may often be successfully combined. Of course, it is not possible or necessary to go into minute detail with regard to every part of the work. Certain things may be safely assumed to be required by established practice or trade usage. If, for instance, it is specified that certain lumber shall be “dressed” this word has a well-understood meaning in the trade and it is unnecessary to stipulate how the dressing shall be done or its character or quality, though it may be necessary to say whether it is to be dressed on one or more sides.

The proper preparation of specifications for any work involves a clear, distinct and complete conception, determination and design of what is to be done; of the conditions that are likely to be met with in carrying it out; and of alternate plans that these conditions may necessitate. This may not always be possible, for the engineer is not omniscient. But careful study and maturity of design will enable him to avoid the great majority of such indefinite expressions as “or in such other manner as the engineer may direct,” “in accordance with the instructions of the engineer,” etc. A great many of the items to which such expressions are intended to and do apply in practice, could be definitely settled before the specifications are prepared and thus all uncertainty on the part of both engineer and contractor be avoided. To illustrate: specifications for block pavement commonly stipulate that the blocks shall be set in rows running at right angles to the axis of the street, except at street intersections, where the engineer may direct them to be laid at a different angle. There is usually no good reason why the engineer should not determine beforehand at which, if any, street intersections the general rule should be changed and so state in the specifications. These may be and usually are unimportant matters which may not much affect one way or the other the cost to the contractor. But they often prove otherwise, and the contractor is entitled to know when he submits his proposal just what he will be required to do. Of course it may develop during the progress of the work that changes from the original plan will become necessary, but these shouldbe provided for in some such definite and previously stipulated manner as outlined in Sect. 3 of the following specifications.

The practice of inserting, either in the specifications or the contract, a clause making the engineer judge and arbiter in any differences that may arise between the city and the contractor, and providing that his decision in all such cases shall be final, is as unwise as it is often illegal. Such clauses are based on the assumption that the engineer is a competent as well as a disinterested party in the transaction, an assumption that is usually wholly wrong, though to their honor it may be said that the confidence thus reposed in engineers is seldom abused. But the fact is that the engineer is never actually a disinterested party. He is employed and paid by the city to look after its interests, and is under no obligations to the contractor other than those named in the contract and specifications and his sense of justice, propriety and professional honor. He would be recreant to his duty if in all nicely balanced matters of doubt he did not espouse the side of his employer. Moreover, his personal interests are often involved. Having prepared the plans, specifications and estimates for the work, he is naturally and properly anxious that it shall be successful and that the cost shall not exceed that estimated. Under all these conditions it is hardly possible for any human being to be a wholly disinterested and unprejudiced judge. No broad-minded and conscientious engineer desires to be placed in such a difficult position, and it is as unfair as it is unwise and improper to require him to assume it.

There are, however, a number of matters of fact in reference to which it is proper and necessary to make the judgment and decision of the engineer controlling and final, unless it may be shown that his decision is clearly erroneous or affected by improper motives, or by fraud. Some one must necessarily be made the immediate and final judge as to whether the quality of materials and workmanship is in accordance with the requirements of the plans and specifications, and as to the quantity of work actually performed, and these duties and responsibilities are very properly placed upon the engineer.

It not infrequently occurs that specifications are not drawn as clearly as they should be in the matters of methods of measuring the work and of applying contract unit prices, and indefiniteness and carelessness in this regard are often a source of misunderstanding and dispute between the engineer and the contractor. It is a good practice, followed by many able engineers, after specifyinghow a certain part of the work shall be done, to state how it shall be measured and paid for at the contract unit prices.

In many respects it is desirable that all the work to be done under contract should be quite fully itemized, and a unit price named for each kind of work. It is the custom in many cities to name only certain leading items of the work to be done under a paving contract, as for the pavement complete, furnishing and setting new curbing, redressing and resetting old curbing, and possibly a few other leading items, and to require that all necessary incidental work shall be done by the contractor without cost to the city; or, in other words, he must take this possible extra work into consideration in naming his unit prices for the leading items of the work. As the quantity of this incidental work is often not stated, and the contractor has no means of ascertaining it, he must guess, as intelligently as he may be able, how much he should add to his unit prices to cover its cost. If he is a prudent contractor he will be sure to add enough to prevent any possible loss on this account. In most cases the quantities of this incidental work can be determined and scheduled by the engineer with the more important items, and the contractor may be required to name unit prices for it. True, there are likely to develop during the progress of the work some items that could not be foreseen or that were overlooked. In some cities such contingencies are provided for by a clause in the contract or specifications scheduling, by name, all the incidental minor items of work that experience has shown are likely to be met with in street paving contracts, and naming fair unit prices which the contractor will be paid for each, should it occur. The contractor may then feel assured that however much the quantity of such incidental work may vary, he will receive compensation proportionate thereto, and he may name his prices for the main items with more confidence. Under such conditions it is reasonable to expect closer figures than he would be willing to name if an unknown quantity of incidental work for which no separate pay is provided had to be taken into consideration.

Sub-division of unit prices is also desirable in order that the engineer may be able to analyze and record the elements that make up the aggregate cost of the work. Thus, in the case of the construction of a new sheet asphalt pavement it is common to ask for a single price for the pavement complete, including a five year guarantee. Now the work will consist of several distinct operations or kinds of work for each of which a separate price might be named:

1. The grading of the street and preparation of the sub-grade. The quantity of this work will vary on different streets and is best reckoned by the cubic yard of material excavated.

2. A price, either per cubic yard or per square yard for the concrete foundation.

3. A price per square yard for the asphalt pavement proper. This might, if desired, be sub-divided into separate prices for the base-course and the surface-course.

4. A price per square yard for guaranteeing the pavement for five years.

Such sub-division would, it is true, increase the work of final computation but if of no other value, the detailed costs would be a great aid to the engineer in estimating the reasonable cost of future work where the relative quantity of these detailed parts varied.

For Grading and Paving, or Repaving

with.. ........ ........ .............. .... Pavementon a... ......... .......... ...... Foundation, the Roadwayof..... ........ ........... ............ . ............Street, from...... .......... ............. .............to. ....... ....... ........... ............ ........together with work incidental thereto.

with.. ........ ........ .............. .... Pavement

on a... ......... .......... ...... Foundation, the Roadway

of..... ........ ........... ............ . ............

Street, from...... .......... ............. .............

to. ....... ....... ........... ............ ........

together with work incidental thereto.

The work embraced in and to be done under this contract consists of grading the entire street from curb to curb between the limits named, including the removal or readjustment of the pavement now on the roadway, setting and resetting curbing, laying or relaying sidewalks where required, furnishing all new material and performing all the labor required for paving the roadway, together with all incidental work necessary to complete the whole in a proper manner, in accordance with the contract, the plans onfile in the office of the City Engineer, these Specifications and the instructions of the City Engineer, herein referred to as the Engineer, or his authorized agents.

The numbered divisions of these specifications are herein designated as “sections,” each being referred to by the number standing at its beginning. Where reference is herein made to any such section number it shall be considered equivalent to a quotation of that section.

The plans and drawings relating to this work, on file in the office of the City Engineer are designated as ...

1. Authority.—Wherever, in these specifications, the words, the City, are used, they shall be understood to refer to the duly constituted municipal government of the city of ... or its authorized agents, acting within the authority specifically conferred upon them by the said municipal government.[1]

Wherever, in these specifications, the words, the Engineer, shall be used, they shall be understood to refer to the City Engineer of said city, or his deputies or assistants, acting within the authority conferred upon them by the City Engineer.

But no agent of the city shall have power to revoke, alter, enlarge or relax the stipulations or requirements of these specifications, except in so far as such authority may be specifically conferred in or by the specifications themselves, without the formal authorization so to do, conferred by the contract of which these specifications are a part, or by ordinance, resolution or other usual official action of the city.[2]

2. Interpretation.—In case of any actual or alleged disagreement or discrepancy between the contract, these specifications, and the plans for the work on file in the office of the Engineer, the languageand provisions of the contract shall take precedence and prevail; and the Engineer shall determine in each case whether the specifications or the plans shall be followed.

3.The Engineer shall have the right to make such changes in the plans and specifications of the work as he may deem necessary or desirable or to provide for unexpected conditions or contingencies that may develop at any time after the signing of the contract, or during the progress, or before the final acceptance of the work; provided that all such changes do not involve an aggregate increase or decrease in the cost of the work, as shown by his estimates, of more than ten (10) per cent. The contractor shall accept such changes when made, as a part of the original contract and specifications, subject to all the provisions and conditions thereof. But before any such changes shall become valid and before the contractor shall begin the particular work involved in such changes, the increased or decreased cost of the work by reason of such changes, above or below what it would have been under the original plans and specifications, shall be agreed upon in writing between the engineer and the contractor. And when the whole work, including such changes, shall have been completed and accepted by the engineer, the sum or sums so agreed upon shall be added to or deducted from the sum that would have been due the contractor if no such changes had been made.

4. Quality of Material and Work.—The judgment and decision of the Engineer as to whether the materials supplied and the work done under this contract comply with the requirements of these specifications, shall be conclusive and final. No material shall be used in the work until it has been examined and approved by the Engineer, or his authorized agents. All rejected material must be promptly removed from the work and replaced with that which is acceptable to the Engineer, and all improper or defective work must be corrected, and, if necessary, removed and reconstructed so as to comply with these specifications and the instructions of the Engineer.

In all matters of detail not specifically covered by the specifications the work shall be well and skillfully done in accordance with the best trade or art customs and standards for work of like character and purpose.

5. Inspection.—The Engineer may provide for the inspection, by assistants and inspectors under his direction, of all materials used and all work done under this contract. Such inspection may extend to all or any part of the work, and to the preparation or manufactureof materials to be used, whether within the limits of the work on the street, or at any other place. The Engineer and his inspectors shall have free access to all parts of the work, including mines, quarries, manufactories, or other places where any part of the materials to be used is procured, manufactured or prepared. The Contractor shall furnish the Engineer all information relating to the work and the material therefor which the Engineer may deem necessary or pertinent, and with such samples of materials as may be required. The Contractor shall, at his expense, supply inspectors with such labor and assistance as may be necessary in the handling of materials for proper inspection. Inspectors shall have authority to reject defective material and to suspend any work that is being improperly done, subject to the final decision of the Engineer. Inspectors shall have no authority to permit deviations from, or to relax any of the provisions of these specifications without the written permission or instruction of the Engineer; nor to delay the Contractor by failure to inspect materials and work with reasonable promptness.

The payment of any compensation, whatever may be its character or form, or the giving of any gratuity, or the granting of any valuable favor, by the Contractor to any inspector, directly or indirectly, is strictly prohibited, and any such act on the part of the Contractor will constitute a violation of these specifications.[3]

6. Injuries to Persons and Property.—The Contractor shall be held alone responsible for all injuries to persons, and for all damages to the property of the city or others, caused by or resulting from the negligence of himself, his employees or agents, during the progress of, or connected with the prosecution of the work, whether within the limits of the work, or elsewhere. He must restore all injured property, including sidewalks, curbing, sodding, pipes, conduits, sewers and other public or private property to a condition as good as it was when he entered upon the work.

7. Sanitary Conveniences; Nuisances.—The Contractor shallprovide all necessary privy accommodations for the use of his employees on the street, and shall maintain the same in a clean and sanitary condition. He shall not create nor permit any nuisance to the public or to residents in the vicinity of the work.

8. Public Convenience.—No material, or other obstruction shall be placed within five feet of fire hydrants, which must be at all times readily accessible to the Fire Department.

During the progress of the work the convenience of the public and of the residents along the street must be provided for as far as practicable. Convenient access to driveways, houses and buildings along the street must be maintained wherever possible. Temporary approaches to and crossings of intersecting streets and sidewalks must be provided and kept in good condition, wherever practicable.

9. Barriers, Lights, Watchmen.—The Contractor shall provide and maintain such fences, barriers, “street closed” signs, red lights, and watchmen as may be necessary to prevent avoidable accidents to residents and to the public.

10. Disorderly Employees.—Disorderly, intemperate, or incompetent persons must not be employed, retained, or allowed upon the work. Foremen or workmen who neglect or refuse to comply with the instructions of the Engineer, shall, at his request, be promptly discharged, and shall not thereafter be re-employed without his consent.

11. Order and Progress of Doing Work.—The work under this contract shall be prosecuted at as many different points, at such times, and in such sections along the line of the work, and with such forces as the Engineer may from time to time deem necessary, and direct, to secure its completion within the contract time. Not more than one thousand (1,000) linear feet of the street shall be torn up, obstructed or closed to travel at any one time without the written permission of the Engineer. Completed portions of the pavement shall be opened to travel as directed by the Engineer, but such opening shall not be construed as an acceptance by the City of the work done. Where thus opened to public travel by the direction of the Engineer, the Contractor will not be held responsible for injuries to the work caused by such travel or public use, pending the final completion and acceptance of the whole work.

12. Grade and Contour of Pavement.—Roadway pavements shall be laid to such grades, crown and contour of surface as the plans may show or the Engineer may direct, and the surface of the completedpavement shall conform accurately to such grades, crown and contour. The designed surface of the completed pavement shall be considered as the datum or plane of reference in fixing the location or level of the sub-grade, of the pavement foundation, and of structures connected therewith. It will be hereafter referred to in these specifications as “The pavement datum.”

13. City Monuments or Stakes.—The Contractor must carefully protect from disturbance or injury all city monuments, stakes and benchmarks, and shall not excavate nearer than five feet to any of them without the permission of the Engineer; or until they have been removed, witnessed, or otherwise disposed of by the Engineer.

14. Old Material.—All material or structures removed from the street and not required for the new construction, but which the city may desire to reserve, shall be delivered and neatly piled up in a corporation yard or elsewhere, by the Contractor, as the Engineer may direct. Such reserved material shall be considered in the custody of the Contractor until delivered at the place designated, and he will be held responsible for its care and protection, and must make good any losses occasioned by damage, theft, or misappropriation while it is on the street or en route to the place of storage. If the Contractor shall be required to haul such reserved material more than one-half mile, he shall be paid a reasonable price, to be agreed upon in advance, for the haul exceeding that distance.

Material taken from the work which is to be used in the new construction shall be compactly piled where it will least obstruct the sidewalks or adjoining sections of the street, and properly protected by the Contractor until it is required for use.

All old material removed from the work, including the material excavated in preparing the sub-grade, not reserved by the City nor to be used again in the work, shall belong to the Contractor and must be removed by him from the street as promptly as possible. It must not be placed on the sidewalks or adjacent streets, nor on any other street or property belonging to the City, nor on the property of private owners, without the written consent of the Engineer, or the owner of the property.

15. Storage of New Material.—The material for construction when brought upon the street shall be neatly piled so as to cause as little obstruction to travel as possible, and so that it may be conveniently inspected.

16. Rebuilding and Adjusting Street Structures.—Catch basins, manhole, sewer and water frames and covers, sewer inlets, waterpipes and other conduits, belonging to the City and within the limits of the work, shall, if necessary, be reset to the new lines and grades of the street and for this purpose good brick masonry of the original thickness, laid in Portland cement mortar shall be used. Great care must be taken to set all such structures as project through the pavement exactly to the grade and contour of the new street surface, and any defects in the conformity of such structures to the pavement datum, discovered at the time, or during the progress of the work, or during the guaranty period, stipulated in Sec. 25 shall be promptly remedied by the Contractor.

17. Clean Sidewalks.—During the progress of the work, the sidewalks and portions of the street adjoining the work, or in its vicinity, must not be obstructed or littered more than may be absolutely necessary, and the adjacent sidewalks must be kept clean.

18. Connection With Existing Pavements or Streets.—Wherever a new pavement joins or abuts against an existing pavement of a different kind, or an unpaved street, either at the end of the new pavement or at cross or intersecting streets, a line of stone headers shall be provided and set. The stone shall be of sound, hard limestone, sandstone, granite or bluestone, free from injurious imperfections. The separate stones shall be not less than three (3) feet long, at least eighteen (18) inches deep, not less than four and one-half (4½) inches wide at the top, nor less than three (3) inches wide at the bottom. The top shall be of uniform width for each line of headers, and shall be dressed square and even. The ends shall be dressed to secure a joint not wider than one-half (½) inch for a depth of six inches from the top, and the sides dressed so as to secure good contact and close jointing with the pavement. The stones shall be set accurately with their tops at the pavement datum, on a bed of concrete nine (9) inches wide and six (6) inches deep, and after being set the trench shall be filled and rammed full of gravel or crushed stone.

All existing pavements adjoining or abutting against the new pavement, with their crosswalks, curbs, and gutters, shall be adjusted, or taken up and relaid, to conform to and connect with the pavement datum, to such an extent as the Engineer may direct.

Where the new and adjoining pavement are of the same kind, and headers are not used, the new and the old pavement must be properly joined and connected, as the Engineer may direct.

Stone headers will be paid for by the linear foot at the contract price for that item, and the other work embraced in this sectionwill be paid for at the contract prices for the several items, where such contract prices are provided; otherwise the work shall be considered as incidental work and shall be done at the expense of the Contractor.

19. Curbing to be Completed in Advance.—The setting of all new curbing and guttering and the redressing, resetting or readjustment of all old curbing must be completed at least 100 feet in advance of the construction of the street foundation.

20. Final Cleaning Up.—Immediately after the completion of the work or any consecutive portion of it, the Contractor shall remove from it all unused material, refuse and dirt placed by him on, or in the vicinity of the work, or resulting from its prosecution, and restore the street to a condition as clean as before the work was begun; and the new pavement shall be properly cleaned.

21. Measurements and Computations.—Unless otherwise distinctly provided in the contract and specifications, measurements, computations and payments will be based upon the actual quantities of completed work, customary or conventional methods of measurement and computation to the contrary notwithstanding.

The area of street pavement shall be reckoned in square yards of completed pavement surface, deducting manholes, inlets and other openings in the surface of the pavement having an area of over three (3) square feet. Unless separately paid for under the contract, stone headers and crosswalks will be measured as a part of the pavement surface.

22.The price for the pavement per square yard shall, unless otherwise stated herein, include the preparation of the sub-foundation, the construction of the foundation, the cushion course, and the pavement complete, including all the materials and labor required therefor.

23. Incidental Work at Contractor’s Expense.—All the work to be done by the Contractor for which specific unit prices are not named in the contract, specified and enumerated in Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, as well as any minor details of work not specifically mentioned in the specifications, but obviously necessary for the proper completion of the work, shall be considered as incidental, and as being a part of and included with the work for which prices are named in the contract. The Contractor will not be entitled to any extra or additional compensation therefor.

24. Extra Work.—The City may require the Contractor to furnish such additional materials and to do such additional work,not provided for in the contract and these specifications, but which may be found necessary or pertinent to the proper prosecution and completion of the work embraced in the contract, at prices to be agreed upon in writing, in advance. But no work other than that included in the contract and these specifications and which is covered by and to be paid for at the prices named in the contract, shall be done by the Contractor except upon a written order from the Engineer, which order shall describe the work to be done and name the compensation agreed upon therefor. In the absence of such written order from the Engineer the Contractor will not be entitled to payment for any such additional or extra work.

In the same manner the city may omit or dispense with items or parts of the work, by previous agreement with the contractor, and a like written order by the engineer. But such additions, omissions or alterations shall not together increase or decrease the aggregate cost of the whole work more than fifteen per cent. (15%). Any changes in the plans, specifications, character of material used or method of doing the work that may increase or decrease the aggregate cost of the work more than fifteen per cent. (15%) may be authorized and validated only by a formal, supplemental contract, regularly executed by all the parties to the original contract.[4]

25. Guaranty.[5]—The Contractor shall guarantee that all the materials used and all the work done under this contract shall fully comply with the requirements of these specifications, the plans herein before referred to and the instructions of the Engineer. Any defects in the completed work, or any part of it, or any failure of the work to fully perform or endure the service for which it was intended,which, in the opinion of the Engineer, are attributable to the use of materials, skill, or workmanship not in compliance with the said specifications, plans and instructions, within a period of ... years after the date of the certificate of completion and acceptance, shall be regarded as prima facie and conclusive evidence that the Contractor has failed to comply with the said specifications, plans and instructions. And the Contractor shall, at his own expense, at such time and in such manner as the Engineer may direct, repair or take up and reconstruct any such defective work, in full compliance with the original specifications, plans and instructions. And as surety for the performance of this guaranty the Contractor’s bond, required by the contract, shall remain in full force until the expiration of the period of ... years above stipulated in this section.

26. Grading.—The whole area to be occupied by the pavement and its foundation shall be excavated or filled up to a sub-grade at such an elevation that after being compacted by the roller, the surface will be ... inches below the pavement datum, and truly parallel thereto. In excavating, the earth must not be disturbed below the sub-grade. Plowing will not be permitted where the depth of earth to be removed is less than five (5) inches, and in no case must the plow be allowed to penetrate to within less than one inch of the sub-grade. Places that are found to be loose, or soft, or composed of unsuitable material, below sub-grade, must be dug out and refilled with sand, or other material as good as the average of that found on the street.

Where the natural surface of the ground shall be below the sub-grade, or shall become so by the removal of old pavement or other structures, it must be filled to the sub-grade in layers not exceeding five inches in depth, and each layer shall be thoroughly rolled or rammed before the next layer is placed upon it, and when the filling is completed the filled area must be properly trimmed and compacted by rolling or ramming to the true sub-grade, as in excavation. The material excavated from the street may be used for such filling, provided it be of suitable quality. Where it cannot be thus procured from the street it must be obtained by the Contractor elsewhere, in which case the actual quantity so obtained, measured after it is compacted in the street, will be paid for at the contract price for “earthfilling.” The price bid for “earth excavation” will be paid for all material excavated above the sub-grade, measured in place on the street, which price includes the cost of disposing of the excavated material, whether as waste or filling, and of trimming and rolling or ramming the sub-grade, and of making it ready for the pavement foundation.

After the excavation is completed and the surface neatly trimmed, the whole area shall be well compacted by rolling with a roller weighing not less than five tons. Areas inaccessible to the roller shall be rammed until they are as well compacted as the rolled surface. When the rolling is completed the surface must be nowhere more than three-fourths inch below, nor more than three-eighths inch above the true sub-grade. If, after the rolling is completed and before the pavement foundation is laid, the surface shall become disturbed in any way, it must be replaced and properly compacted.

Where the soil composing the sub-foundation is found to be wet or “springy,” a system of soft tile drains, discharging into the street drainage system, shall be constructed by the Contractor, as directed by the Engineer. The tile shall be laid in trenches about one foot wide and from one to two feet deep. After the tile is in place the trenches shall be filled with crushed stone or gravel, well compacted by tamping. The tile will be paid for per linear foot at the contract price for the same, which price shall include the cost of excavating and refilling the trenches with crushed stone.

27.Pavement foundation shall consist of hydraulic concrete, or of old pavement stone relaid, or of broken stone or gravel, as may be herein specified, constructed upon the sub-grade.[6]

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