(a)

1. (1) The process of officially completing the D-B construction portion of the project is similar to the DB-B construction process where the Arkansas Department of Transportation will conduct a final inspection and provide the design-builder with a list of corrective or incomplete work items.
2. (2) If none of the noted items are considered significant by the department and the project has been determined to meet the operational requirements established in the RFP, the project has reached project substantial completion (SC).
3. (3) A letter from the department acknowledging that SC has been obtained should be provided to the design-builder along with the list of corrective or incomplete work items.
4. (4) The design-builder is responsible for performing the appropriate repairs, collecting all the required documentation, and submitting the documentation to the department on a timely basis, usually weekly or biweekly, to meet the requirements of the list of corrective actions.

(c)

1. (1) The final design of a D-B project described and specified using performance parameters is, in essence, accepted by the department based on the design-builder’s final plans and specifications.
2. (2) The department acceptance of the final design follows the acceptance of the project’s basic concepts and preliminary design which occurred when the department selected the design-builder based on the submitted proposal and the preliminary design represented therein.
3. (3) During execution of the DBA, acceptance of the project’s components occurred through the implementation and execution of the quality management plan (QMP).

(d)

1. (1) If the QMP is followed, the construction should lead to an acceptable final product, aside from typical minor corrective work.
2. (2) Any warranty requirements will extend beyond the project construction completion and should be monitored by the department for compliance on the specific objectives, conditions, and term of the warranty.

(e)

1. (1) A D-B project is complete when all conditions of the DBA have been fulfilled and the department has acknowledged the completion through the issuance of a letter of final acceptance (FA) to the design-builder.

2. (2) Project completion includes:

   1. (A) All design and construction activities;
   2. (B) Submission of record drawings; and
   3. (C) All documentation submitted to the department in its final form.

(f)

1. (1) The formal letter acknowledging FA provides confirmation that all corrective action items have been completed and all products meet all the DBA requirements, excluding any warranty terms and requirements.
2. (2) Project components may carry warranty provisions requiring performance for a prescribed term after FA.
3. (3) The warranty provisions describe the required condition of the component for the duration of the warranty term.
4. (4) Measurements for progressive payments or final payments are also based on those provisions.
5. (5) Final warranty completion (FWC) would occur when each warranty period is completed and each warranted component’s condition is confirmed to meet the requirements of the DBA or is restored to sufficiently meet those requirements.

(g)

1. (1)

   1. (A) One alternative to including warranty requirements in the RFP and DBA would be to include a maintenance program in the scope of work, which would be established to keep the project at a prescribed minimum condition throughout the prescribed period.
   2. (B) A maintenance program would work well for a project where limits are well defined and other maintenance will be not performed in the project area by the department or some other agency or owner.
2. (2) For example, a pavement rehabilitation project within a continuous highway section, where the design-builder maintains the new section but the department maintains the remainder of the highway, could create an ambiguous definition of overlapping or gapped responsibility.

(h)

1. (1) A major new bridge would be a highly distinctive project and might be well suited to a maintenance agreement.
2. (2) The maintenance agreement becomes similar to the warranty condition where the project, or component, condition is confirmed to meet the requirements of the DBA or is restored to meet those requirements.

(i)

1. (1) The tasks associated with the contract closure lie mostly with the department.
2. (2) After the design-builder has completed all the conditions of the DBA, including all construction, repairs, all warranty periods have expired, and any warranty repairs completed, the department should process the final payment request or requests from the design-builder following the standard department procedures and provide a formal correspondence to the design-builder that all terms and conditions of the DBA have been completed and the contract closed.