In 2005 Brun‐Way Highways Operations Inc. (Operator) entered into a 28‐year operation, maintenance and rehabilitation (OMR) contract with the Department of Transportation (Client) for 275 4‐lane kilometres of Routes 2 and 95 within the Province of New Brunswick. Long term Public Private Partnership (P3) contracts often contain specifications that allow the Operator to determine and implement the quality control methods they feel are necessary to ensure the end product exceeds minimum acceptable levels and meets specified performance criteria at the end of the contract term. This results in the financial risk being transferred from the Client to the Operator when fulfilling the contractual obligations. Brun‐Way’s pavement rehabilitation programs are sourced out to Contractors for competitive pricing. Due to this, Brun‐way recognised that the contract specifications associated with pavement rehabilitation operations needed some clarification, to decrease the risk being borne by the Operator. In 2009 Brun‐Way began researching specifications and best practices to further develop the quality control / assurance measures and payment adjustments for pavement rehabilitation contracts, to establish criteria, thereby increasing pavement performance associated with this P3 project. Without eliminating or reducing any contractual requirements, Brun‐Way considered this to be an opportunity to be innovative and develop pavement rehabilitation specifications that allow Contractors to control their own work and be measured on their results and end performance. This paper describes the QC / QA measures, including IRI smoothness requirements and payment adjustments and the challenges encountered during development and implementation, from the Operator’s and Contractor’s perspectives over a two year period.
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