FHWA Revises Key Contract Document

What happened: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced it will no longer require state departments of transportation (DOTs) to physically incorporate Form FHWA-1273 into contracts and subcontracts on federal-aid highway projects.  FHWA also revised the form to reflect high-level policy changes by the current administration.

Why it matters: Form 1273 is a compilation of contractual requirements for federal-aid highway projects, covering policies on non-discrimination, prevailing wage, safety and more.

Under the latest action, state DOTs must still include the underlying provisions (based on federal law and regulations) in the actual construction contract, but they may now opt out of using 1273 as an attachment.

Over the past several months, a number of ARTBA members expressed concern over a growing dilemma, in which their respective state DOTs expected compliance with all requirements listed in 1273, even though President Donald Trump rescinded numerous related policies by executive order. In meetings with officials in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s office and FHWA, ARTBA urged that 1273 be revised to eliminate these inconsistencies, regardless of whether the form was being made optional.

ARTBA appreciates FHWA’s responsiveness in releasing a new version of 1273, along with a summary of changes. FHWA staff also briefed ARTBA’s chapter executives on these actions at a recent virtual meeting.

What’s next: ARTBA urges interested chapters and members to review these documents with their DOTs, as the policy changes reflected in the new 1273 apply to all current and future contracts. Please reach out to ARTBA’s Rich Juliano or Prianka Sharma with any questions. A special thank you to contractors who provided “on-the-ground” perspectives on this matter over the past year.