(a) In accordance with Transportation Code, §223.012,
the department will develop a schedule for liquidated damages that
accurately reflects the costs, including administrative costs to the
department and road user costs, that result from delays in the completion
of a project resulting from a breach of a highway improvement contract.
The department will review the schedule from time to time and revise
it as necessary to insure that it continues to accurately compensate
for the costs resulting from a breach.
(b) For each highway improvement contract for a project
that the department identifies as having a significant impact on the
traveling public, the department will determine project-specific liquidated
damages that accurately reflect the costs, including administrative
costs to the department and road user costs, that result from delays
in the completion of a project resulting from a breach of a highway
improvement contract. In determining whether a project has significant
impact on the traveling public, the department, in addition to other
relevant factors, will consider whether the project will:
(1) involve an interstate highway, hurricane evacuation
route, or hazardous material route;
(2) affect access to schools or hospitals
(3) affect a corridor of regional, statewide, or national
importance;
(4) affect the response times of emergency vehicles;
(5) affect a primary thoroughfare in a community;
(6) require long term ramp closures for controlled
access roadways;
(7) result in significant added travel time or distance;
(8) result in added travel time for the traveling public
on or around a major national or state holiday; or
(9) have a substantial impact on local businesses.
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