Job Responsibilities

This position is accountable for providing preliminary and final design cost estimates for all District 5 highway and bridge improvement projects. This position analyzes and approves or rejects agreed unit price requests for construction contracts after award of the contracts.

Subordinate Personnel: 1 Engineer & 2 Technicians (seasonal/temporary assignment)
Number of Project Costs Estimates: 100-200 Annually

Value of Projects: $50-250 Million Annually
Preliminary Estimates: 100-200 Annually
Agreed Unit Prices: 100-200 Annually
Plan Reviews: 50-120 Annually

This position reports to the Programming Engineer. No subordinates report to this position. However, this position may supervise technicians or engineers on a temporary and/or seasonal basis as needed.

This position is accountable for providing cost estimates of all District 5 highway and bridge improvement projects. The incumbent maintains up to date files on labor, equipment, and material costs. The incumbent also monitors the economics of the area and construction techniques to arrive at reasonable cost factors. The incumbent reviews the plans and specifications for each contract. The incumbent provides cost and engineering expertise to designers to aid them in determining the final design. This position is unique in that the incumbent must be knowledgeable of construction techniques and must utilize labor and material costs gathered from various sources to determine project costs.

Typical problems faced by the incumbent include predicting costs today for projects which will be constructed in the future. The incumbent must visualize the proposed work, including construction staging and traffic control, to obtain a cost of the alternatives so that the best choice can be made in terms of need and available funding. The incumbent also analyzes requests for agreed unit prices on construction change orders to determine if they are reasonable to accept. The greatest challenge to this position is accurately projecting costs which can be used in determining the current and projected district programs.

(Job Responsibilities continued)

Functions performed include gathering data to be used for estimating costs and keeping it current; serving as a resource and providing expertise to the Study and Plans Section of the Bureau of Program Development in the forms of methodology of construction and the related costs; determining costs of alternatives to assist in selection of final design; determining the district’s final cost estimate for all construction contracts; coordinating with the central office Bureau of Design and Environment to substantiate cost estimates which justify program costs to the Federal Highway Administration; and keeping up to date on design policy changes and practices. The incumbent also attends plan review meetings.

This position utilizes wide discretion in ascertaining and justifying preliminary and final cost estimates. These decisions are based on experience, state of the art knowledge, published labor rates, district and departmental policies and procedures, and Federal Highways Administration Standards. Problems of an unusual nature are referred to the Programming Engineer.

The incumbent has internal contacts with the central Bureau of Design and Environment personnel, district personnel from the Bureau of Operations, the Local Roads and Streets Section, Construction Section, and Materials Section of the Bureau of Project Implementation, and the Studies and Plans Section and Project Support Section of the Bureau of Program Development, and the Contract Compliance Officer. External contacts are with area contractors, various area suppliers, engineering consultants, County Highway Department personnel, City Engineers, and Federal Highway Administration personnel. This position requires occasional travel within the district.

The effectiveness of this position is evaluated by the incumbent's ability to provide timely and accurate cost estimates on highway and bridge improvement projects in the program development, project implementation and operation phases.

Principal Accountabilities

1. Provides cost estimating expertise to all district bureaus that require a cost foundation to establish their programs.
2. Provides final cost estimates on all Program Development, Operations and state letting Local Roads projects which are used for the decision-making criteria on whether to accept or reject contractor’s bids.
3. Provides engineering methodology and cost factors to Program Development squad leaders for them to determine cost-effective designs for all various components of the project.
4. Provides review and approval/rejection off all cost-plus or agreed unit price requests received from contractors for highway construction projects.
5. Provides all information necessary for obtaining federal funding for projects.
6. Performs duties in compliance with departmental safety rules. Performs all duties in a manner conductive to the fair and equitable treatment of all employees.
7. Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Position Requirements

• Current registration as a Licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois
• Four years of experience in civil engineering
• Valid driver’s license
• Occasional travel within the district

Position Desirables

• Thorough knowledge of construction techniques of highways improvements in order to properly prepare project cost estimates
• Knowledge of the policies and procedures that govern the design of highway projects; and experience preparing plans and specifications for road and bridge projects
• Ability to perform difficult technical research and make comprehensive recommendations on engineering problems
• Strong oral and written communication skills