Analysis of Disputes in Transportation Projects

Abstract

Disputes in construction projects are fairly common. They most often lead to increased costs, delays, and damaged business relationships. Disputes can also result in loss of reputation, personnel resources, and potential business opportunities. Previous studies have shown that the frequency of disputes in construction projects can be reduced through the timely identification of potential dispute sources and the implementation of effective lessons-learned strategies. This paper presents an analysis of the disputes for transportation projects in the state of Florida and the related lessons-learned in order to prevent these disputes from recurring in future projects. Two hundred and sixty -two (262) cases of disputes in transportation projects between 1994 and 2008 stored in the Dispute Resolution Board (DRB) database of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) were analyzed. It was found that majority of disputes were due to unforeseen conditions. Also, more than half of the disputes (58%) occurred during the main construction stage of the projects. Most of the lessons-learned were derived from the evaluation of the DRB reports aimed to address ambiguous specifications, a responsibility-assignment mechanism, and poor conceptual planning.