105.22 Duties of the District Construction and Materials Engineer

The District Construction and Materials Engineer is directly responsible to the District Engineer and is expected to operate as the District Engineer's representative. All important decisions made by the District Construction and Materials Engineer must be with the full knowledge and consent of the District Engineer. How this mandate is carried out is at the discretion of the District Engineer.

When projects are advertised for letting, they are assigned to a Resident Engineer by letter so that project files contain a record of the assignment. This serves as the Resident Engineer's authority to incur engineering expenses. Copies of this letter are sent to Construction and Materials and to Communications. After the project has been awarded, the contractor is informed in writing of the name and address of the Resident Engineer to whom the work has been assigned. If, during the life of the project, it is necessary to reassign the work, the name of the new Resident Engineer is provided in writing to the contractor and copies of this letter sent to Construction and Materials.

The District Construction and Materials Engineer must direct work in a way that will keep engineer-contractor controversy and ill feelings to a minimum. This cannot be done by following a set of rules. If enough thought is given and constant effort is made to place authority and responsibility at the proper levels, a smooth-running organization will follow. When decisions can be made at the proper time and place, desired results should be realized.