International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 8, Issue 3, March-2017 15 ISSN 2229-5518 IJSER © 2017 http://www.ijser.org Causes of Delays During Construction Phase of Road Projects due to The Failures of Contractor, Consultant, And Employer in Addis Ababa City Road Authority Yosef Amare, Emer T. Quezon, Mamuye Busier Abstract— Construction delay considered as one of the most recurring problems in the implementation of construction projects.It is widely known to have an adverse impact on project success in terms of time, quality and cost. The effect of construction delay is not only confined to the construction industry, but also its influence on the overall economy of a country like Ethiopia. This research was conducted to assess the causes of excessive delays in the completion of road project during the construction phase due to the failures of Employer, Consultant, and Contractor in Addis Ababa City Road Authority projects. Spearman rank correlation coefficient from the Relative Importance Index (RII) analysis was used to test the agreement between different groups of respondents participated in the questionnaire survey, and to rank the three construction parties according to their responsibility area and importance as perceived by the respondents which factor causing the delay of road projects. This research identified sixty-five (65) causes of delay. There were fifty-one (51) valid questionnaires which received back from Contractors, Consultants, and Employer (AACRA). Based on the results, the contractors have the highest percentage of responsibility area that causes the delay of about 40%. While the second was on the part of the Employer, which comprised of 26.15%, and the consultant which placed third of 23.08%. On the other hand, there were 10.77% of the respondents attested that the Shared groups (3-parties) have the responsibility area which causes project delay during the implementation phase. About this, the research study identified and ranked top ten factors causing delays of construction projects in Addis Ababa City Road Authority. Poor financial control of the project ranked 1 st with Relative Importance Index (RII) of 0.905. Difficulties in financing project by contractor ranked 2 nd with Relative Importance Index (RII) of 0.854. Type of project bidding and award (lowest bidder) ranked 3 rd with RII of 0.850. A poor site management and supervision of contractor ranked 4 th with RII of 0.839. Selecting inappropriate contractors ranked 5 th with RII of 0.823. Lack of high- technology mechanical equipment ranked 6 th with RII of 0.819. Inaccurate initial project scope estimate and Ineffective project scheduling ranked 7 th and 8 th with RII of 0.803. Weak control of the project progress ranked 9 th with RII of 0.788. And the Contractor’s staffis not adequately trained in professional construction management techniques ranked 10 th with RII of 0.784. Therefore, it concluded that the main party Contractor did not perform properly his duties and obligations leading to the main contributory factor causing the failure of the project. Index Terms— Construction delay factors, Contractor, Consultant, Employer, Responsibility area, Road projects, Relative Importance Index. ——————————  —————————— 1 INTRODUCTION Well-Developed road transport sector in developing countries like Ethiopia is assumed to fuel up the growth process through a variety of activities of the development endeavors of a nation. Among these, a creation of market access opportunities for agricultural products is the major one. Moreover, road transport facilities play a role in both the production and consumption decisions of every household in their day-to-day activities. Besides, road transport services are essential for expanding education, health service provision, trade facilitation – within the country and the export market, and better public as well as individual service requirements. Likewise, roads serve as critical infrastructural units, which provide linkages to other modes of transportation like railways, shipping, and airways. To administer the country's road network, Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA) established in 1967 by proclamation no 256/67 to provide for the control and regulation of travel and transport on the road. Since its commencement, ERA has been responsible for the use of all roads within Ethiopia, all vehicles using these roads, and for all matters relating to road transport activities of the country. Even though the road transport in Ethiopia accounts for over 97% of the total domestic traffic carried out by motorized transport system, most of the connecting roads not properly maintained, which results in frequent accidents costing the life of many people and the loss of valuable resources every year. In this connection, making improvement in the road sector of the country will have a significant impact on economic and social sectors as well. With this objective in mind, this research will assess the critical factors of project delay as well as other undesirable causes that delay road construction projects. Hence, the primary output of this investigation is to develop a suitable resolution way to mitigate the occurrence of delay on road projects and minimize the risks of project failures. Delay is the time overrun either beyond the completion date specified in the contract or beyond the time that the parties agreed upon for delivery of the project. A delay in a construction project may cause losses, or negatively affect some or all of the project parties. A IJSER