ABSTRACT
The 1980 legislation, however, requires the Highway Authority to obtain a ‘prior written statement’ (in other words, an estimate) of the cost of the work before it commences.
For this estimate to be prepared, it is necessary for the Client (i.e. the Highway Authority Engineer) to specify the nature, description and details of the work; that is, to produce contract documents. Therefore, contract documents have come to be more widely used, even for very minor operations. This use has continued as best value has evolved with contractor/client joint teams.
