00006 ADDENDUM ONE.pdf

CONTRACT ADDENDUM

AtkinsRéalis Project No. 100054891

ADDENDUM NO.: One (1)

OWNER'S NAME: Cherokee County Water & Sewerage Authority PROJECT NAME: SR 20 Widening Water Main Relocation – SR 369 to Forsyth Co.

BID DATE: Thursday, January 16, 2025, 10:00 AM DATE ISSUED: Thursday, January 9, 2025, 4:00 PM DESCRIPTION: Responses to Bidder Questions

CONTRACTOR ACTION

1. Review specification clarifications below. No other tasks required.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. There has been a question regarding qualifications and references for similar projects.

On both pages 00010-2 and 00301-8, the specification documents requests the Bidder to provide references of similar projects – similar in nature, scope and duration. The ad for bid asks for 5 project references within the past 5 years, and Section 00301.VII.D has space for five projects, with spots for five owners and 5 engineers. Owners or Engineers can be duplicated, but 5 different projects are required. We need a current contact and phone number for the references provided.

To be SIMILAR, the project provided as a reference must be a water main or sewer force main relocation project for a road widening project. The road widening project can be a GDOT project or a County/City project. These road widening projects require the water main contractor to install the water main based on offsets from construction baselines and installed using elevations of water mains, not depth of cover. If the road is not being widened with the addition of storm sewers or ditches, such as a new water main installed parallel to an existing GDOT highway or City Street, then the project is not similar and will not be considered for a reference for this bid.

Also to be SIMILAR, we will require the road project to be at least 5,000 LF in length, requiring at least 5000 LF of water main or sewer force main to be installed to clear the construction corridor for road construction. While one mile is not very close to the 5 miles of this project, we agree projects of this length are not common, so requiring a five mile project reference is not feasible. Five one-mile SIMILAR projects should be enough to prove a water main contractor knows how to address the special requirements of a water main relocation for a road widening project. As stated in the specifications, all contractors are allowed to bid on the project, and then the Engineer will assess the qualifications of the low bidder and check references for successful completion of SIMILAR projects.

AtkinsRealis Project 100054891 Addendum One

2. Is the clearing that is inside of the shown required RW to be completed by the utility contractor or the road contractor?

See Specification Section 02601.3.4

3. Approved fire hydrants listed in Section 02601.2.16 are Mueller Company’s Super Centurion traffic model, M&H Style 129 traffic model, and EJIW Watermaster 5CD 250. Will the

CCWSA also accept the American-Darling B-84-B-5 with the 5.25” VO?

Yes

4. For the 6”, 8”, 10”, and 12” Gate Valves and hydrant bases, will the CCWSA accept the

American Flow Control Alpha one-bolt restrained joint end as an alternate to MJ with retainer gland?

5. In Section 00301, Contractor’s Qualification Statement and Questionnaire, Page 00301-3, Question III. “Financial Status” the proposal states to attach Financial Statements for the past 3 years or complete 1, 2, 3 recording our Revenues, Expenditures, Overhead & Admin.

Cost, and Profit. For this “Financial Status” section of the Contractor’s Qualification located in Section 00301, would you accept a Georgia Department of Transportation

Certificate of Qualification letter as information that would cover the requested Fiscal Year dollars amounts for this section?

No. However, you can submit the financial information requested in a separate envelope from the bid form, and this information will not be opened or reviewed unless the Bidder is the low bidder being checked for qualifications. Any financial information submitted will be kept fully confidential by the parties required to review the information.

6. Has the SR 20 DOT Project Bid? If so, who will be the DOT’s Contractor?

Yes; CWM was the low bidder, but the project has not yet been awarded.

7. What is the anticipated DOT’s NTP Date? What is the anticipated NTP date for the water main relocation project?

We do not know, so it would just be a guess. What we do know is that the dependent activities that must be completed prior to the beginning of the CCWSA work is the road contractor’s clearing of the first phase of the project and the staking of the construction baseline by the road contractor. We will issue the NTP to the water main contractor as soon as possible so that materials can be ordered with time for construction starting as soon as the road contractor completes the dependent activities.

8. Will the clearing and existing structures removal and the BMP’s installation be completed by the GDOT Contractor prior to the NTP being issued for the water main installation?

See Specification Section 02601.3.4 regarding clearing, and see the answer above to question 7 regarding the timing of the NTP issuance. Regarding BMPs – This water main contract requires certain BMPs to be installed for storm water control. If the road contractor’s BMPs are in very similar locations, these items can be used for storm water control by the water main contractor, but no payment will be made to the water main contractor for any items not installed. Any BMPs installed by the road contractor that are disturbed by the water main contractor must be repaired at the end of each working day.

9. Is there any geotechnical information available for the project?

No – not provided by the CCWSA. GDOT may have issued some information regarding existing conditions that may have been made available by GDOT, but we are not aware of such information issued by GDOT.

10. Will you be adding a mobilization line item?

No

11. Will the project be cleared as part of the GDOT project (PI 0002862), or do we need to include clearing in this proposal? If it does need to be included, will you be adding a clearing line item?

See Specification Section 02601.3.4; and No.

12. Specification Section 02601 indicates it is the intent for the GDOT contract to clear the area to be impacted by roadway construction. There are multiple areas of water line installation which are OUTSIDE the limits of cut/fill, but inside the new R/W. Should we expect the

GDOT contractor to clear to the new R/W limits?

The Specification does not say “area to be impacted by roadway construction”. We expect the roadway contractor to clear the RW and the construction easements. The water main contractor is expected to clear areas where the water main installation extends beyond the roadway construction, such as at the end of some side streets.

13. It appears there are many sections of water line installation that will require sawcutting, Removal and Disposal of concrete or asphalt surfaces. Some of these areas will NOT receive replacement surfacing due final roadwork and therefore not be paid under the bid item. How is this contract to be compensated for the sawcut, removal & disposal?

Where to place this cost of pavement removal and disposal is up to the discretion of the water main contractor.

14. When a 12x6 or 8x6 hydrant tee with gate valve, anchor coupling & 45 is installed at a low point, will the contractor be required to come back and cap or plug the piping at a later date?

If the plans call for a blow-off with a tee, valve, bend, and pipe, then this is a permanent blow-off structure that will not be capped or plugged at a later date.

15. Specification section 02601 indicates the cost of compaction testing will be the responsibility of the contractor. Please provide the frequency of testing to be performed and standard rates of the approved geotechnical engineer. Would it be appropriate to include a testing allowance in the bid schedule?

Frequency of compaction testing depends on the efforts of the water main contractor. If good effort is recognized and initial testing shows compliance with requirements, testing will become less frequent as long as proper effort continues. If compaction testing fails frequently, compaction testing frequency will increase. The Geotechnical engineer shall be chosen by the water main contractor and verified by the Engineer for qualifications. If you are unaware of such an engineer, we frequently utilize GeoHydro Engineers out of Kennesaw, GA. They or any other qualified Geotech should be able to provide you with a rate. The bid form will not be modified to add a testing allowance.

16. The bid items for relocate & reconnect EX DCDA or master meter including vault (items 66

& 69) will require the shut-down of water service to the customer for an extended period of time (more than 1 crew shift). Typically, a new vault with appurtenances is provided in the new location. Although this is a significant expense. Will the contractor be permitted to shut down service during normal working hours for these relocations?

Not in our experience; The vault is typically set aside during the relocation. Then the supply valve at the main is shut down and the DCDA or master meter is usually relocated to the new location within about 6 hours, as long as the proposed location has been prepared properly prior to the relocation. The water main contractor is required to coordinate the water supply shutdown and outage with the customer so that the customer is not out of water during critical times. This work frequently requires work outside of normal water contractor working hours, such as at night or on weekends. Coordination with the customer is the key.

17. Typically, Cherokee County PROVIDES all meters and back flow assemblies. Please confirm if any material items will be provided by the county for this contract.

This is not a new installation contract. This contract requires the relocation of existing meters and BFPs and meter boxes. If any item is damaged due to negligence of the water main contractor, the water main contractor will be responsible for the replacement cost. If an item is damaged by the road contractor or other utility on site, the Owner will either supply a new item or reimburse the water main contractor for the replacement of the item.

18. There is a Directional drill shown on sheet P-34. Why was this included at this location?

Would HDPE of the same pressure class be considered? Will a temporary easement be provided on each end of the directional drill for the pits? There will still be a need to excavate for installation of the 2 service tees. Will temporary easements be provided at those locations?

Due to the configuration of the state stream buffer, eliminating the need for a stream buffer variance. No for HDPE. We recently completed a directional drill in Paulding County with DIP very successfully and it was over 600 feet long, while this one is only 350 LF. No for temporary easements as there is already sufficient RW and easement area provided.

19. The Sigma Rome Meter Box in Spec Section 02601 is not domestic. Can an alternate product be named?

Sigma bought the Russell Foundry in Alabama a few years ago and continued to make the Rome cast iron meter box for a while, but they no longer cast them domestically. The CCWSA still prefers the oval cast iron box, so in accord with Section 02601.2.1, where it says “If domestically produced materials are not available …., such material may not be used in the bid proposal or work without prior approval by the Owner …”, the CCWSA will hereby approve the Sigma Rome Meter Box as manufactured in India, since this particular item does not contact water and since this item is not located in the roadway. An alternate manufacturer that produces the same shape and style of oval cast iron meter box can be considered for an approved equal, whether foreign or domestic. Hopefully very few meter boxes will require replacement.

20. What is the Engineer’s estimate for this project?

Between $8,000,000 and $13,000,000.

21. Is the waterline portion schedule (this bid) driven by the road contractor’s schedule

(separate bid)?

22. Are we to remove water service lines from existing main to the meter on the existing main lines that are being abandoned? Are we to remove water service lines from existing main to the meter on the existing main lines that are being removed?

No ; No.

Approved By:

Robert Bartlett, PE AtkinsRéalis USA

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