This study has identified the general causes of numerous issues that slow or prevent project closeout and recommends actions that address these causes. With a flow diagram of a generic procedure for public closeout as a point of departure, NYSDOT’s current procedure was diagramed . Then, having identified “time of the essence” as an inherent flaw in the NYSDOT process that prevented it from determining the point at which it was entitled to treat a contractor as having waived its rights to the final retainage amount, and armed with reviews of relevant sections of the Court of Claims Act, State Finance Law, the State Highway Law and case law, it was determined that two years should be set as the legal “time of the essence” limit for settling closeout claims. Following upon this, NYSDOT’s current procedure was modified and recommended for adoption and implementation. Three draft letters of notification and instruction to contractors were recommended for adoption.