On NEC highways projects, the pressure comes from working around live traffic, booked road space and other people's apparatus, so access windows and sequencing drive much of the contract admin. The clauses are the same as any NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), or the Term Service Contract for network maintenance, but the Scope and programme carry far more.
Clients often have their own amendments and requirements, and this page doesn't deal with any particular client's. Read your own Scope and Z clauses first. For the general routine, see managing NEC contracts.
Where the contract feels the pressure
| Issue | What to check | Clause (NEC4 ECC) |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic management and road space | Who books it, and what happens if it's refused or moved. Is it a constraint in the Scope, or a date on the Accepted Programme? | Scope, 31.2, 60.1(1) |
| Access to the Site | Access dates by section. Late access only counts if it's past both the access date and the Accepted Programme date | 33.1, 60.1(2) |
| Utility diversions | Are utility companies Others? What timing and conditions does the Scope give them? | 25.1, 60.1(5) |
| Unknown services and ground | What the Site Information shows. The experienced contractor test applies | 60.1(12) |
| Weather-sensitive work | Surfacing and earthworks. Does the 60.1(13) data suit the risk being priced? | 60.1(13) |
| Phased opening | Sections, Key Dates and how early use is treated | X5, 30.3, 35.2 |
| Delay damages | Sectional rates, and whether they reduce on early use | X7.1, X7.3 |
Road space as an access issue
A planned lane closure is often the most valuable thing in the programme. Decide at the outset how the contract sees it. If the Scope makes the Contractor responsible for booking and working within a notice regime, a refusal could be the Contractor's risk. If the Client has to provide it, late provision may be a compensation event. If a later change restricts working hours, that may be a change to the Scope under 60.1(1). Each of these leads to a different answer, and the words of your Scope decide which one applies.
A fictional example. A junction scheme's Scope limits lane closures to nights Sunday to Thursday. Midway through, the Project Manager instructs that no closures are allowed for three weeks because of a nearby event. That is a change to the working constraints in the Scope, so it is a compensation event under 60.1(1), notified at the same time as the instruction (61.1). The Contractor's quotation needs to show the effect on planned Completion and on any Key Date. It may well include standing time for a gang and traffic management, or a proposal to re-sequence. The Project Manager could instruct alternative quotations (62.1).
Utilities and Others
Utility diversions cause a lot of event activity on road schemes. If the Scope gives a date for a utility company's work and it doesn't happen on time, 60.1(5) may apply, provided the date or condition is in the Scope or the Accepted Programme. So:
- Get the diversion dates into the Scope if you can, and into the Accepted Programme in any case (31.2). See Others' work.
- Warn when a utility's plans start to slip, before the date is missed.
- Keep records of attendance and notice. Short programme slips here can be hard to prove later.
Practical points for each side
- Contractor: Record nightly what was achieved, including lost closures and why. A shift's output may be small and a shift's cost large, so a daily log makes for better quotations.
- Project Manager: Think about how fast replies need to be if a closure booking depends on your answer. If a long notice period applies to the closures, the normal reply period may be far too slow. Use the early warning meeting to deal with this.
- Both: Show road space booking dates on the programme, so the Accepted Programme reflects the real constraint. See access dates.
Term maintenance on road networks
Network maintenance is usually a term arrangement rather than a single scheme. Under the Term Service Contract, there is no single Completion Date. Work is ordered by Task Orders with their own dates and the event numbers change. The guide to NEC on maintenance and term contracts covers those differences, including defined response times if your Scope sets any.
Related guides
- Managing NEC Contracts: A Practical Guide
- NEC on Rail Projects
- NEC on Water Projects
- NEC on Energy and Nuclear Projects
- An NEC Guide for Subcontractors
- An NEC Guide for Consultants
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