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When performing work on a public road construction project and you want to send a preliminary notice to the “owner” of the project, who should receive this notice?

The answer to this question is the public entity that is issuing the road construction work. For subcontractors or suppliers on a road project, it can sometimes be difficult determining who is the issuing authority, as you may have not had any contact with them.

Different Types of Road Construction Projects Have Different “Owners”

The easiest way to determine this is by what type of road construction project you are working on. If it is for a major highway or interstate route, the issuing authority will most likely be the state’s Department of Transportation. If you are working on a smaller freeway or artillery road, the project is most likely owned by the city or county the work is being performed in.

In Washington state for instance, work on a section of Interstate 90 that runs through Mercer Island would be under the control of the Washington State Department of Transportation. However, a smaller road on Mercer Island, like Island Crest Way, would be owned by the city of Mercer Island, or possibly the county (King County) it resides in.

City-Owned vs. County-Owned

As far as determining if a road is city or county owned, simply check the Public Works Departments on the city and county’s websites and see where the information is. If there is information on the city’s website and not on the county’s website, the road construction project is probably city-”owned.”

When you do find the project, for state, county, or city projects, there should be information letting you know exactly what department is in charge of the project. For instance, the Engineering Department or Department of Public Works are frequently used in these instances.

Still Can’t Find Anything? No Need to Worry – Levelset Can Help!

Each city and county’s websites differ in what information they make available online, which can may mean information on the project’s owner may be more difficult to come by in some instances. At Levelset, we run extensive searches before we send out any documents to determine that we have the correct public entity that “owns” the project.

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