1. A. The program and funds pursuant to the County Bridge and Road Improvement Act shall be administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation under a minimum of policies and guidelines in accordance with appropriate design and construction engineering standards. Approved projects will be awarded to contractors by the State Transportation Commission or by other federal or state agencies under their normal competitive bidding procedures. However, force account projects may be awarded to a county based upon agreed unit prices, if deemed to be in the best public interest.
2. B. The Department is hereby directed, in cooperation with the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma, to cause to be developed appropriate local road design standards for use in constructing projects pursuant to this program. The standards, upon their adoption by the Transportation Commission and by those counties wishing to participate in this program, shall be used for the design and construction of all projects funded pursuant to this program. However, when funds available pursuant to this program are used to match federal funds, projects shall meet appropriate minimum design standards for local roads and other applicable federal requirements. All plans and specifications for federal-aid projects shall be subject to the approval of the Department. To every extent possible, negotiations with the Federal Highway Administration should be undertaken to allow application of the County Road Guidelines Design Manual.
3. C. Plans, surveys, and engineering shall be the responsibility of the county in which the project is located and may be paid for by the Department of Transportation on a contractual basis from program funds accruing to that county. Only registered professional engineers, approved by the Department of Transportation, experienced in the design and construction of highway and related facilities, shall be used for such services. Where funds available pursuant to this program are used to match federal funds, the engineer shall be subject to approval by the Department of Transportation. On those projects where no federal funds are involved, the Department of Transportation shall make every effort to develop simplified procedures designed to expedite the efforts of the county to advance the project to contract letting. The Field Division engineer of the Department of Transportation or an appropriate designee shall be responsible for providing such guidance and assistance as may be requested by the county in the development of the project. The Field Division engineer shall be notified in advance by the county's engineer of all field "plan-in-hand" inspections involving the project and shall be granted access to the project and all related records and documents during all phases of the project design and construction. Construction engineering on all projects shall be the responsibility of the Department of Transportation. In specific instances where, in the opinion of the Department of Transportation, the public interest would be best served, the county's engineer may be authorized to perform the construction engineering.
4. D. Upon completion of the construction plans, the county's engineer shall submit the plans to the Department of Transportation accompanied by detailed estimates of the cost of right-of-way, utility relocations and construction of the project and a certification that the project was designed in accordance with the applicable adopted design standards. The Department of Transportation shall review the plans, specifications, and estimates to the extent of assuring their completeness and compliance with the appropriate design criteria. Upon acceptance of the plans, specifications, and estimates by the Department and at such time all right-of-way necessary to construct the project has been acquired by the county and so certified to the Department of Transportation, the project will be scheduled for bid opening by the Transportation Commission. However, no project shall be scheduled for bid opening unless sufficient program funds are available to the account of the county in which the project is located to adequately finance the project construction. Prior to award of the contract by the Transportation Commission, the county shall be given the option of accepting or rejecting the bid submitted by the successful bidder.

Added by Laws 1985, SB 55, c. 351, § 23, emerg. eff. July 31, 1985; Amended by Laws 1989, HB 1038, c. 44, § 5, emerg. eff. July 1, 1989; Amended by Laws 1991, HB 1100, c. 98, § 4, emerg. eff. July 1, 1991; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1950, c. 25, § 4, eff. November 1, 1995; Amended by Laws 1997, HB 2038, c. 284, § 26, emerg. eff. July 1, 1997 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2001, HB 1781, c. 73, § 3, eff. November 1, 2001 (superseded document available).