I get the holding the contractors feet to the specs. Been there, and done that. That said, there have been instances where everything has been followed to a "T", and it still fails. I too, have been a contracts administrator, and combination field supervisor. One job that we did in the Palmer area was a fish passage culvert. We followed the engineers plans. Both the contractor, and myself saw flaws within the design and elevations of the stream bed. Those concerns were brought up, but the powers that be said follow the plans period. This was Federal money, and the specifications were not to be questioned. The stream bed elevations were not right, and 2 years later the whole project was washed away by a typical high water event in the fall. At times, engineers can be wrong. If they aren't physically tied to the project, they can't see what the reality is on the ground, versus what they have specified. Arrogance has sunk more than one project in this State, and will do so again in time.