U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000


Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram

Office of International Programs

FHWA Home / Office of International Programs

Appendix B: Amplifying Questions

I. General

A. Context of Transportation in Country

  1. Describe the key aspects of how transportation is positioned within the political, economic, and technological structure of your country. Please comment on items such as funding, owner structure, market structure, market competition, contractor associations, use of public-private partnerships, and the roles and responsibilities of the primary stakeholders in the transportation life cycle.

B. Warranty Program Background

  1. Describe the evolution of your country's asphalt pavement warranty program. Consider the original motivation for implementation, how long has your country been using these warranties, the percent of your transportation program that uses warranties, the impact of the warranty program on your internal staff, the impact on the private marketplace, the current goals of your warranty program, and describe any internal and external barriers that you have encountered in implementing your asphalt pavement warranty program.
  2. Does your country use warranties on items other than asphalt pavement? If applicable, please state the other major items that are warranted.

II. Implementation

A. Program Specific Issues

  1. What criteria are used to designate projects for use of asphalt pavement warranties?
  2. What products are specifically warranted on asphalt pavement projects?
  3. What are the standard lengths of warranty periods? How does warranty length relate to the expected pavement service life? If multiple warranty lengths are used for different projects, how are these lengths determined?
  4. Do warranties cover workmanship, product performance, and/or other items?

B. Project Scope Definition

  1. Who determines existing traffic loads and climatic conditions for the pavement design?
  2. Do contractors rely on public agency pavement performance data to assess their risk in a warranty situation or do they use other measures? Do you have tools for predicting pavement life that the contractors can use when assessing the risk of providing a warranty?
  3. How are interactions between warranted product (asphalt) and other products (such as subgrade) assessed and incorporated into the design?
  4. Is a life cycle cost analysis performed for asphalt pavement warranty projects? If so, is it only for the life of the pavement warranty or beyond?
  5. Are user delay costs evaluated in warranty projects? For example, is disruption to traffic for construction or future treatments of maintenance or corrections considered?

C. Pre-Contract Award

  1. Is there a prequalification process for warranty contractors? If applicable, what are the prequalification criteria?
  2. What type of bond or financial assurance is required to support the contractor warranty effort? If applicable, how are the values determined?

D. Contract Award (Design and Construction)

  1. Who designs the pavement structure under a typical asphalt pavement warranty contract? If the design is not done by the agency, does the agency review and approve the design?
  2. Who selects the project specific materials under a typical asphalt pavement warranty contract? If the material is not selected by the agency, does the agency review and approve the selection?
  3. Describe the testing and verification of materials during construction. Does the owner, provider, or a third party test or verify the materials?
  4. Describe the inspection of construction processes. Does the owner, provider or a third party inspect the construction processes?

E. Payment

  1. How is work verified as complete and how is payment distributed on an asphalt warranty project? If you use pay equations for warranty projects, could you provide us with examples?
  2. Are retainage systems (monies held by the owner until final inspection) used during or after construction?
  3. Are incentives paid or penalties assessed for performance during construction or during maintenance of the product?
  4. What is the distribution in costs for administration in typical asphalt pavement warranty projects?

F. Final Acceptance

  1. Is there a final inspection of the product before the warranty process begins? For example, after final acceptance for payment and before beginning of warranty period?
  2. At the end of the warranty period, is there an official closeout function where the pavement is inspected and an assessment made as to whether the pavement has performed as expected?

G. Operation and Maintenance

  1. How are traffic loads and climatic conditions accounted for during the warranty period?
  2. Is the warranty provider or the owner responsible for routine/emergency maintenance during the warranty period?
  3. When the warranty provisions are enforced, how is the contractor requested to repair/fix the problem?
  4. Are there times when the owner must also participate in the repair?
  5. What is the frequency of inspections during the warranty period?

H. Corrective Action

  1. What are the consequences of noncompliance issues during the construction phase and during the operation period?
  2. Do you have provisions that allow the warranty to be voided? For example, higher traffic volumes or loadings than initially anticipated.
  3. How are disputes resolved between the owner and provider during the construction phase and during the operational period? Is this dispute resolution process different from nonwarranted projects?

III. Program and Project Evaluation

A. Program Performance

  1. Are any comparisons available for performance of asphalt warranted pavements to that of nonwarranted pavements? Specifically, discuss long-term quality/performance measures, bid costs vs. engineering estimates, and warranted vs. nonwarranted asphalt pavement project costs in the area of unit bid costs, life cycle costs, and percent of pavement requiring repair.
  2. Warranty contracting often allows for considerable innovation on the part of the contractor. Have innovations been realized from the use of asphalt pavement warranties? How do you analyze innovation prior to bids and/or after award of contract?

B. Project Performance

  1. The United States uses surface distress, ride quality, friction measures, composite pavement condition index, engineering properties, delamination, cracking, debonding, and other performance indicators as assessment tools throughout the life cycle of the product.
  2. What are the criteria that your country uses to measure asphalt pavement warranty performance on individual projects?
  3. How are performance thresholds determined?
  4. How do your testing methods account for the aging that has occurred in the asphalt?
  5. What tools or equations have been developed to predict performance as it relates to the warranty requirements?
  6. What reference guide and/or equipment are used to determine the conditions and measure the performance?
  7. How long are the pavement evaluation sections within the project?
  8. How is industry input solicited and incorporated into warranty specifications? (Industry - materials suppliers, contractors, fiduciary, trade associations, transportation facility owners, or all of the above)?

C. Case Studies and Contract Examples

  1. Can you provide a case history of a “typical” asphalt pavement warranty project? Examples of “successes” and “failures” would also be helpful.
  2. Can you provide example contracts and/or contract language from successful warranty contracts?
<< Previous Contents Next >>
Page last modified on November 7, 2014
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000