Abstract
Changes in construction projects increase final costs and reduce productivity. Change of scope, unforeseen existing condition, and design errors/omissions are considered as the major causes of changes in construction. For over half a century, scholars have evaluated the origins and causes of variations, while others classified the changes to be able to predict each type's occurrence. The parties' level of information plays an important role in change formation. The contract settings may persuade the parties to keep the information private to benefit from the changes. Information asymmetry, which happens when one party has more information and ability to predict changes earlier, can result in contractual hazards. Since the contractors have usually been blamed for concealing information; this study investigates this allegation by analyzing unit price contracts from California department of transportation (Caltrans). It focuses on items that have experienced a change in quantity and statistically analyzes if contractors have overpriced these items in the bidding process. The outcomes of this study show that contractors seem to be able to predict items with underestimated quantities. This finding persuades the owners either to incentivize the contractor to share information or change the delivery method, thus, reduce the probability of change order occurrence.