Assume that a three-year bridge construction project has just concluded resulting in a modern six-lane structure that spans a major river connecting two cities. Each of the two cities resides in a different state. The new bridge replaces a late-1940s steel structure two-lane bridge that was originally dedicated to World War II military veterans. The new bridge was constructed approximately 100 yards upstream from the bridge that it will be replacing. The old bridge is still standing and in operation, but destruction of the old bridge will begin approximately two weeks after the new bridge is dedicated and opened to traffic. The local Chambers of Commerce in each of the two cities connected by the bridge have been pushing for its replacement for the past 20 years. Various politicians at many state and local levels from each state have been actively involved (either in supporting or opposing the push to get the project funded, scheduled, and completed). At least two area historical groups have been vocal, especially in the past four years, about the old bridge's future. Representatives of smaller towns and cities along the major highways leading into the two cities that the new bridge connects have long supported the bridge renovation and have recently hailed it as a great boost to the region's economy. There are multiple newspapers in each of the two cities that the bridge connects, with one dominant newspaper that serves both markets. One of the cities connected by the bridge has four local television stations and the city in the other state has none. Workers from a general contractor and seventeen subcontractors have worked on the new bridge project, as well as employees of the primary Architectural firm and two consulting Architectural firms. Various state and federal government agencies have been directly or indirectly involved in the project as well. As the river spanned by the new bridge is a navigable river downstream from the bridge (and also for a much shorter distance upstream from the bridge), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has also been actively involved. Various lobbying groups have supported or opposed the bridge project during its life and during the years leading up to the project getting started. These lobbyists have been the voice of many different types of groups that range across many interests from environmental groups to trucking industry groups as examples. As the new bridge has required that new highway approaches be constructed along each side of the river that it spans, various businesses and two very small residential neighborhoods have been impacted by the new bridge's approach roads. Several small businesses on either side of the river from the old bridge fear that life will change dramatically when the old bridge closes. The arts community in the region has successfully sought to provide input into the design of the new bridge and that bridge will feature special lighting to make it aesthetically appealing at night. The project manager for the new bridge and the key project team members have worked diligently for the entire duration of the project to bring the project to completion within one week of the scheduled completion date and slightly under budget. Inspection of the new bridge, to ensure that it meets specifications and is safe for the public, is currently underway and will be completed within the next month. The new bridge project has been completed with a combination of local, federal, and state (from each of the two states) funding.

Prepare a two-page Microsoft Word format document

(with one-inch margins all around in a 10 or 12-point Times New

Roman or Arial font). Please place an appropriate assignment

heading on the document containing the assignment number, the

submitting student name, course number, semester,etc. in a format that is

similar to those students have been instructed to use in previous assignments in

this course. In that document, please respond (in full sentences

and appropriate paragraph structure) to the following two

multi-part questions:

1. What should be done to ensure appropriate closure of this project

and why?

2. Should this project have a project audit? Why or why not? If it should

have a project audit, then how should that project audit be done

and why? (Be sure to address the who, what, when, where, why, and how

parts of this last subquestion as well as mentioning the general

characteristics of a high-quality project audit effort, should you elect

to state that a project audit should be done.)

PLEASE PUT YOUR RESPONSE TO QUESTION #1 ON THE FIRST PAGE

OF YOUR SUBMISSION AND THE RESPONSE TO QUESTION #2 ON THE

SECOND PAGE OF YOUR SUBMISSION.