The author relates the special challenges of defending construction claims related to low-volume recreational roads as based on her experiences as counsel for the eastern federal lands highway division of fhwa since 1984. Specifically, the author addresses (a) the unique design of low-volume roads, including the limited right-of-way and the efforts to design to "fit the land" and to provide a more accommodating ride; (b) the special qualifications required of contractors, who may have to work in a "tight, " or environmentally sensitive, area; (c) the difficulties of administering a contract in low-volume areas owing to the isolated nature of many low-volume road areas;and (d) the lack or misapplication of standard references, which were developed primarily for high-volume roads, and the impact on the potential for claims and on the focuses, strategies, and litigation support necessary to defend them. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1291, Fifth international conference on low-volume roads, may 19-23, 1991, raleigh, north carolina, volume 2.
Abstract