107.16 Contractor's Responsibility for Work. Until final written acceptance of the project by the Engineer except as provided in subsections 105.16 and 107.15, the Contractor shall have the charge and care thereof and shall take every precaution against injury or damage to any part thereof by the action of the elements or from any other cause, whether arising from the execution or from the nonexecution of the work. The Contractor shall rebuild, repair, restore, and make good all injuries or damages to any portion of the work occasioned by any of the above causes before final acceptance and shall bear the expense thereof except damage to the work due to unforeseeable causes beyond the control of and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor including but not restricted to acts of God of the public enemy or governmental authorities.

In case of suspension of work from any cause whatever, the Contractor shall be responsible for the project and shall take such precautions as may be necessary to prevent damage to the project, provide for normal drainage and shall erect any necessary temporary structures, signs, or other facilities at his expense. During such period of suspension of work, the Contractor shall properly and continuously maintain in an acceptable growing condition all living material in newly established plantings, seedings, and soddings furnished under his contract and shall take adequate precautions to protect new tree growth and other vegetative growth against injury. See also subsection 107.02.

107.17 Contractor's Responsibility for Utilities. At points where the Contractor's operations are adjacent to properties of railway, telegraph, telephone, and power companies, or are adjacent to other property, damage to which might result in considerable expense, loss, or inconvenience, work shall not be commenced until all arrangements necessary for the protection thereof have been made.

The Contractor shall cooperate with the owners of any underground or overhead utility lines in their removal and rearrangement operations in order that these operations may progress in a reasonable manner, that duplication of rearrangement work may be reduced to a minimum, and that services rendered by those parties will not be unnecessarily interrupted.

In the event of interruption to water or utility services as a result of accidental breakage or as a result of being exposed or unsupported, the Contractor shall promptly notify the proper authority and shall cooperate with the said authority in the restoration of service. If water service is interrupted repair work shall be continuous until the service is restored. No work shall be undertaken around fire

hydrants until provisions for continued service have been approved by the local fire authority.

Any unavoidable damage caused without negligence by the Contractor to underground utilities not shown on the plans shall be repaired, if so directed by the Engineer, and payment will be made in accordance with subsection 109.04.

107.18 Furnishing Right-Of-Way. The Government will be responsible for obtaining all necessary rights-of-way in advance of construction. Any exceptions will be indicated in the contract.

107.19 Personal Liability of Public Officials. In carrying out any of the provisions of these specifications, or in exercising any power or authority granted to them by or within the scope of the contract, there shall be no liability upon the Contracting Officer, Engineer, or their authorized representatives, either personally or as officials of the Government; it being understood that in all such matters they act solely as agents and representatives of the Government.

107.20 Construction Safety Requirements. The manual entitled "Construction Safety Requirements," Federal Highway Projects, is a part of these specifications. The contractor shall also provide all safeguards, safety devices and protective equipment and take any other action on his own responsibility or as the contracting officer may determine reasonably necessary to protect the life and health of employees and of the public.

Should conflicts in the provisions of the Safety Manual and provisions of a rule or regulation of a State or local safety code occur, that provision which defines the higher safety standard shall govern.

107.21 Third Party Beneficiary Claims. It is specifically agreed between the parties executing this contract that it is not intended by any of the provisions of any part of the contract to create the public or any member thereof a third party beneficiary hereunder, or to authorize anyone not a party to this contract to maintain a suit for personal injuries or property damage pursuant to the terms or provisions of this contract.

Section 108.-PROSECUTION AND PROGRESS

108.01 Subcontracting. The Contractor shall not subcontract, sublet, sell, transfer, assign or otherwise dispose of

any portion of the contract work without written consent of the Engineer. Before consent is given to subcontract any work, the Contractor, if requested by the Engineer, shall present evidence that the proposed subcontractor is fully qualified to do the work. In case such consent is given, the Contractor will be permitted to subcontract a portion thereof, but shall perform with his own organization, work amounting to not less than 50 per cent of the original contract amount, except that any items designated in the contract as "speciality items" may be performed by subcontract and the cost of any such specialty items so performed by subcontract may be deducted from the original contract amount before computing the amount of work required to be performed by the Contractor with his own organization. No subcontracts shall in any case release the Contractor of his liability under the contract and bonds.

No subcontract, approval of a subcontract, or any other action shall create any contractural relation between subcontractors and the Government. The contractor shall be liable and responsible for any action or lack of action of a subcontractor. Contractors and subcontractors shall be charged with all direct, imputed or presumed knowledge the others might possess. As used throughout this contract a subcontractor shall mean a subcontractor in any tier.

108.02 Notice to Proceed. The "Notice to Proceed" will be issued by the Contracting Officer in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the Bid Form.

108.03 Prosecution and Progress. After the contract has been executed and before issuance of the notice to proceed with the work, the Engineer will designate a time and place for a preconstruction conference with the Contractor.

At the conference, the Contractor shall furnish the Engineer with a "Progress Schedule" for his approval. If required in the special provisions, the progress schedule shall be prepared on the basis of an accepted critical path method of scheduling. The progress schedule may be used as the basis for establishing major construction operations and as a check on the progress of the work. The Contractor shall provide sufficient materials, equipment, and labor to guarantee the completion of the project in accordance with the plans and specifications within the time set forth in the proposal. If the contractor falls significantly behind the submitted schedule, the Contractor shall:

(a) Submit a revised schedule for completion of the work within the contract time.

(b) Modify his operation to provide such additional materials, equipment, and labor necessary to meet the revised time estimates.

Should the prosecution of the work for any reason be discontinued, the Contractor shall notify the Engineer at least 24 hours in advance of resuming operations.

108.04 Limitation of Operations. The Contractor shall conduct the work at all times in such a manner and in such sequence as will assure the least interference with traffic. He shall have the due regard to the location of detours and to the provisions for handling traffic. He shall not open up work to the prejudice or detriment of work already started. The Engineer may require the Contractor to finish a section on which work is in progress before work is started on any additional sections if the opening of such section is essential to public convenience.

108.05 Character of Workmen; Methods and Equipment. The Contractor shall at all times employ sufficient supervision, labor and equipment for prosecuting the several classes of work to full completion in the manner and time required by these specifications.

All workmen shall have sufficient skill and experience to perform properly the work assigned to them. Workmen engaged in special work or skilled work shall have sufficient experience in such work and in the operation of the equipment required to perform all work properly and satisfactorily.

Should the Contractor fail to remove such person or persons as required in subsection 102.14 or fail to furnish suitable and sufficient personnel and equipment for the proper prosecution of the work, the Engineer may suspend the work by written notice until such orders are complied with.

All equipment which is used on the work shall be of sufficient size and in such mechanical condition as to meet requirements of the work and to produce a satisfactory quality of work. Equipment used on any portion of the project shall be such that no injury to the roadway, adjacent property, or other highways will result from its use.

When the methods and equipment to be used by the Contractor in accomplishing the construction are not prescribed in the contract, the Contractor is free to use any methods or equipment that he demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Engineer will accomplish the contract work in conformity with the requirements of the contract.

When the contract specifies that the construction be performed by the use of certain methods and equipment, such methods and equipment shall be used unless others are authorized by the Engineer. If the Contractor desires to use a method or type of equipment other than those specified in the contract, he may request authority from the Engineer to do so. The request shall be in writing and shall include a

full description of the methods and equipment proposed to be used and an explanation of the reasons for desiring to make the change. If approval is given, it will be on the condition that the Contractor will be fully responsible for producing construction work in conformity with contract requirements. If, after trial use of the substituted methods or equipment, the Engineer determines that the work produced does not meet contract requirements, the Contractor shall discontinue the use of the substitute method or equipment and shall complete the remaining construction with the specified methods and equipment. The Contractor shall remove the deficient work and replace it with work of specified quality, or take such other corrective action as the Engineer may direct. No change will be made in basis of payment for the construction items involved nor in contract time as a result of authorizing a change in methods or equipment under these provisions.

See also subsection 102.14.

108.06 Determination and Extension of Contract Time. The number of days allowed for the completion of the work included in the contract will be stated in the proposal and contract, and will be known as the "Contract Time."

When the contract time is on a working day basis, the Engineer will furnish the Contractor a weekly statement showing the number of days charged to the contract for the preceding week and the number of days specified for completion of the contract. The Contractor will be allowed one week in which to file a written protest setting forth in what respect said weekly statement is incorrect, otherwise the statement shall be deemed to have been accepted by the Contractor as correct.

When the contract time is on a calendar day basis it shall consist of the number of calendar days stated in the contract counting from the effective date of the Engineer's order to commence work, including all Sundays, holidays and nonwork days. All calendar days elapsing between the effective dates of any orders of the Engineer to suspend work and to resume work for suspensions not the fault of the Contractor shall be excluded.

When the contract completion time is a fixed calendar date it shall be the date on which all work on the project shall be substantially completed.

The number of days for performance allowed in the contract as awarded is based on the original quantities as defined in subsection 102.04. If satisfactory fulfillment of the contract requires performance of work in greater quantities than those set forth in the proposal, the contract time allowed for