QnA 8.09.24_ DEVA.pdf

Questions and Answers during Advertisement for

CA ERFO NP DEVA 2023-3(2) REPAIRS AND ARMORING

August 9, 2024

Questions Answers 1 Is there a job walk for the attached project? NON-MANDATORY PRE-BID VIRTUAL MEETING

A pre-bid virtual meeting will be conducted to solicit contractor interest and to orient contractors with the project prior to the bid opening. A Representative from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will conduct a meeting on Thursday, July 18, 2024, from 2:00 – 3:00p.m. Local Mountain Time. FHWA will provide a brief project presentation and will be available to answer questions. All questions and answers will be posted to SAM.gov.

If you would like to attend the virtual meeting, please email CFLContracts@dot.gov by Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 1:00 p.m., Local Mountain Time to request a link to join the presentation. The virtual meeting will be held using Microsoft Teams.

ATTENDANCE AT THE PRE- BID VIRTUAL MEETING IS NOT

REQUIRED TO BID

2 Can we use CMP in lieu of HDPE for the pipe culverts?

No, please bid according to plans and specifications.

3 On plan sheet A5, note 4, it talks about cleaning prior to sealing cracks, seal according to 414 subsections. I am not finding anything on this under section 418 nor are there any bid items for this work. Can you please clarify this note and possibly add bid items for this work since there are miles of cracks and will be hard to measure as incidental, it needs to be by the linear foot?

Refer to amendment A001.

In some areas where gabion walls are being installed it shows to shore the excavation. Is it possible to put up temporary portable concrete barrier rail pinned to the asphalt to create one lane of traffic with the use of temporary signals in lieu of shoring the vertical excavation? If shoring is required regardless, can you send us a detail of what would be accepted in the Park?

Maintaining stability and safety of the excavation is the responsibility of the contractor. See the Special Contract Requirements (SCR) of the IFB and FP-14, Standard Specifications for Construction of Roads and Bridges on Federal Highway Projects.

5 Specifications page E-11, it says to comply with permit No. 2022- 0057-DWQ that expires 8/31/2028. Can you please provide the permit for our review?

Refer to Amendment A001.

6 Should there be any excess excavated materials from the project, can they be left at the mixing tables?

If we need imported materials for the project, can we get the material from the mixing tables?

Refer to Amendment A001 SCR’s Subsection 203.05(a) – Excess excavated native material MUST remain in the park and be disposed of at the listed mixing table locations OR as approved by CO. Any excess imported materials must be disposed of outside of the park.

If the contractor needs imported materials for the project, they may not get the material from the mixing tables.

7 Bid item 20304-1000, removal of structures & obstructions, sheet B1 shows this item one lump sum all, but no breakdown of what is being removed and where. The roadway plan sheets don’t show anything either. Can you please send a detailed breakdown per road as to what is a part of this item so it can be bid properly?

Refer to Amendment A001 for a breakdown of removals.

8 Bid item 20420-0000, embankment construction, plan sheets B6 & B8 per the summary sheets does not have any columns or remarks. The roadway plan sheets do not show anything either.

Can you explain further where this embankment is being placed per road (Badwater & Daylight Pass) & stationing?

Refer to Amendment A001, Sheet B12, Westside Road for embankment information.

9 On plan sheet C1, note 3, it says wall assumed to be 9’ and if additional height is required shoring will be necessary. I did already ask below about using pinned barrier rail in lieu of shoring, but my question here is how are we supposed to bid the shoring if you don’t even know if the height will be above 9’ as assumed? We need to know exact heights to bid properly or allow the shoring if needed to be a change order (modification) to the Contract if needed. Can you please clarify?

Refer to Amendment A001, SCR’s Subsection 253 and plan sheet C1: The contractor will determine exact layout and heights.

The existing gabion wall is 3 gabion courses tall, which is reflected in the plans. Due to additional erosion from the hurricane, there may be a section of wall that will be 12 ft tall including embedment depth at the walls tallest spot. The wall will step up gradually and not be that tall the entire length.

10 After reviewing plan sheet C1, the detail shows 4-rows, but the bid item of 980 CY is only for the top 3-rows, can you please confirm?

Refer to Amendment A001, SCR’s Subsection 253 and plan sheet C1: The contractor will determine exact layout and heights.

No matter if there is 3-rows or 4-rows, the bottom will be buried 3’ correct? If the 980 CY is correct and the first row is buried, the exposed wall height is only 6’ +/-, but the detail shows 9’ exposed, can you please confirm what you are looking for?

If you want 9’ exposed and 3’ buried, the 980 CY is incorrect.

There is no survey of this site, but the existing gabion structure in this location looks to be three (3) gabion courses high. It is anticipated a portion of this wall will need to be four (4) courses with the embedment depth while other portions may only be two courses deep. The detail shown on sheet C1 lists the maximum height that is anticipated at this site, but as shown in the table is going to be variable and fewer courses approaching the intersection with the CA-190 and the pullout on Badwater Road. The quantity of 980 cubic yards uses the assumption that the average height of the wall will be nine feet (some portions will be taller and some will be shorter).

3’ embedment depth is correct.

11 Except for plan sheet C1, there is no other gabion wall information for all the other locations IE: elevations, number of rows needed and etc. Are we supposed to use plan sheet G1 for all other locations and to assume four rows as shown in the cross section? This would basically give you 9’ +/- exposed at every location with 3’ buried. For the excavation at each location, we only have plan G1 to go off of using the existing ground shown for each location to quantity unless you have existing ground information at each location.

For Emigrant Canyon, please reference Sheets C45-C52 and corresponding Sheet G1.

The gabion walls on Emigrant Canyon road are all to be designed by the contractor with pay item 25701-0100 Contractor Furnished Gabion Wall Design. The contractor is responsible for designing the gabion walls in all locations on Emigrant Canyon Road. Quantities for these walls are based on field measurements post disaster in October of 2023. Since the October 2023 site visit, an emergency contract was awarded to restore access on Emigrant Canyon Road. All failure sites with gabion walls have been restored to pre-disaster fill slopes, but gabion walls will require excavating fill slopes, building the gabion wall structure, then re-constructing the embankment. While some wall locations will need to be four (4) courses tall (twelve feet high), it was assumed based on field visit measurements that a nine foot average height would be used in quantity calculations since some portions of the wall will also only need to be one (1) or two (2) courses high.

12 On plan sheet C1: The cost to design & shore this one location is going to cost way more than closing the road or moving the traffic across the road onto the dirt shoulder with signals until complete, would you consider this? It would add more road work & paving, but still far cheaper then shoring in this one small location.

Refer to Amendment A001.

Contractor is allowed to use a diversion on the shoulder in leu of shoring at this site. SCRs have been updated to reflect the requirements for this diversion in Section 156.05(a) and (i) and Section 107.01.

13 The sam.gov listing for this project CA ERFO NP DEVA 2023- 3(2) does not show that this project is a Small Business Set-Aside.

The cover sheet of the invitation to bid in the project specifications shows that it is a set-aside. Can you please clarify which is correct?

The project is a Total Small Business Set Aside, as stated in the solicitation. SAM.gov has been updated.

14 I was wondering if the CA ERFO np devs repairs and Armoring solicitation requires past performance. If so can I use past performance through my subcontractor?

Sheets B-3 thru B-6 of the solicitation are required to be filled out by the prime contractor. Sheet B-6 requires the prime contractor to list up to five of the largest jobs you have completed as prime contractor in the last five years which are similar in project work scope to this project. This information is used to determine responsibility of the contractor in accordance with FAR Subpart 9.1.

15 I was wondering if you guys can lift FAR Clause 52.236-1 - Performance of Work by the Contractor:

as well as FAR Clause 52.219-14 - Limitations on Subcontracting.

FAR 52.236-1 is not included in the solicitation. FAR 52.219-14 is required and will not be lifted.

16 I saw there’s the possibility of teaming up with other companies on this deal, would we be eligible if we were working with a company that is involved with doing the work?

Yes, refer to FAR Subpart 9.6.

17 Can the power point presentation be provided to contractors?

Yes, it will be posted after completion of the Pre-Bid Virtual Meeting.

18 Does the detour on Badwater have to be paved?

No it does not have to be paved. It has to be able to support bus and truck traffic. Please refer to SCR Subsection 156 in Amendment A005.

19 Can you please look at extending the time to complete this project? There is way too many locations to complete this work based on your time frame.

Please refer to Amendment A002, which updates the completion dates for Schedule A and Option X.

20 Bid item X0091 25701-0100 Contractor Furnished Gabion Wall Design: Can FHWA please elaborate on what the design should include? For example, will the bid item referenced above this be considered a retaining wall? What exactly will be the heights of the wall( s) ?

Refer to SCR 253.03 for specification requirements and details for wall design. Walls must be surveyed according to Section 152, drawings submitted according to Subsection 104.03, and wall design performed in accordance with Section 257. Subsection 257.04 lists all items to be included in the wall design submittal (e.g. plan view of the structure, elevation view of the structure, typical cross-section view, etc.).

The only pay item considered a retaining wall is 25302-1000. Pay item 25305-1000 is not considered a retaining wall.

Please reference questions 9, 10, 11 above for wall heights.

21 Bid item X0091 25701-0100 Contractor Furnished Gabion Wall Design: Is this something the Gabion Manufacturing Engineer can supply, or does it have to be a 3rd Party independent Engineer that can Stamp the design?

Wall design is to be submitted in accordance with Subsection 104.03 and Section 257. If the gabion manufacturing engineer can supply all required submittal documents as described in 257.04, then according to 104.03 (2)

(b) (1), a seal/signature from a professional engineer is not required for gabion wall layouts/installations.

22 In one of the Amendments you mention all native soils can go to the Mixing Tables, what about the removal of base & gabion rock, can this go there too?

The base could be used by the Park on other Roads and the rock could be used for other uses as needed. This is already in the Park and approved material when installed and will save a lot of money if allowed to stay in the Park. In a lot of cases these materials will be mixed with native materials while removing.

Excess excavated native material MUST remain in the park and be disposed of at the listed mixing table locations OR as approved by CO.

However, consider using removed base and gabion rock as native material to create the 1:2 (V:H) slope at gabion locations.

23 Please refer to plan sheet 253-A. Can Native Material be used in lieu of the Unclassified Borrow?

Native material can be used in front of and above the gabion walls.

However, structural backfill is required in the wedge immediately behind the gabion walls, as shown on Sheet 253-A.

24 Please refer to the Gabion Basket Installation Detail for Badwater Road (addendum 1, sheet C1). What type of material can be used on the front of the wall to create the 2:1 slope?

Native material can be used in front of the wall to create the 1:2 (V:H) slope.

25 On Emigrant Canyon Road at the gabion wall locations there will be significant quantities of excavated material. Without existing topographic and design information, the quantities are difficult to estimate, but looks like it could be in the 20,000 to 30,000 cy range. Please confirm that all this excavated material is native material and can be disposed of at the specified mixing table locations, and none is imported material that must be disposed outside of the park. If there is material from the gabion excavation that needs to be disposed outside of the park, please provide bidders sufficient information to accurately determine the quantity.

The excavated material at gabion wall sites can be used in front of and above the gabion walls to create the 1:2 (V:H) slope. It is not expected that any native material will have to be disposed of at areas outside of the park.

Excess native material must be disposed of at the mixing tables within the Park in accordance with Subsection 203.05 of the SCR’s.

26 Please confirm that both requirements to clean the existing surface prior to sealing of cracks, and, sealing of the cracks has been removed per amendment #1. If no, please provide quantity.

Note 4 on sheet A5, which references cleaning the existing surface, has been deleted per Amendment A001.

27 Please clarify if contractor:

A. Can re-use the following materials, and, clarify with requirements to re-use existing:

1. gabion basket / revetment mattresses fil rock.

2. asphalt millings for backfill for the gabion baskets and also re-use excess asphalt grindings for aggregate base at West Side Road and/or for 6” base under the gabion baskets & mattresses where rock occurs.

3. asphalt base.

B. Does contractor need to export the grindings or can contractor stock pile at the local mixing table(s)?

The contractor can re-use gabion and revet mattress rock, provided those materials meet the requirements of the contract. Asphalt millings cannot be reused as embankment or aggregate and need to be disposed of at the mixing tables.

28 Sheet G1 shows filter fabric wrapping the entire gabion basket with exception to the bottom. Sheet G3 shows filter fabric wrapping the entire mattresses with exception to the daylight top side. Please clarify if the gabion baskets and revetment mattresses are to be completely wrapped or to install as noted per plan.

Please confirm if on-site dirt can be used to cover the gabion baskets and revetment mattresses.

Install the filter fabric as detailed in the plans. Native material can be used to cover the gabion baskets and revet mattresses, as detailed in the plans.

29 Please clarify how to quantify the excess slide material and how and/or where to include this in the current bid schedule?

If any portion of the road is washed out, how does the contractor quantify the needed materials to meet the project requirements?

Excavated native material can be used at locations where native material is specified, namely above revet mattresses and gabion baskets. Significant road damage has been previously repaired under a separate contract.

30 Keynote 3/C43 notes roadway reconditioning locations will be provided as directed by the CO. Please provide clarification/direction of how contractor is to interpret and/or bid the 2.8 mile roadway requiring:

1. Contractor to submit and standby for approval (21-days) for the ground topo & culvert(s) per section 152/E- 22 (schedule A, bid item #2,3).

Roadway reconditioning is located on Westside Road, generally between the intersection with Badwater Road and the damaged sites noted on sheets C43 and C44.

Roadway reconditioning will be completed per the requirements of Section 303 of the FP-14, which generally requires the removal of organic or deleterious material from the roadbed, as well as the scarification, shaping, 1.a. “ Do not begin embankment construction or excavation operations until the design profile has been verified. If differences in terrain are found, the CO may modify the profile to match the new terrain.”

Question(s):

1.a.i. please clarify how contractor is to submit an apples to apples line item cost for these line item(s) requiring various trades with various potential bid scenarios.

1.a.ii would it be prudent for the bidding contractors to provide a T&M rate in lieu of potentially mischaracterizing the lump sum bid line items?

1.a.iii please provide a baseline topo for bidding contractors to bid to for the 2.8 mile roadway.

1.a.iv clarify how to quantify any and all soft spots and/or amount of silt/wash dirt to remove.

and compaction of the roadbed to provide a smooth driving surface. No surveying is expected as part of this work.

31 Please define where bid item A0300 Roadway Conditioning starts and ends.

Roadway reconditioning is located on Westside Road, generally between the intersection with Badwater Road and the damaged sites noted on sheets C43 and C44. Please refer to Amendment A005, plan sheet B12.

32 Please confirm:

1.a contractor can/cannot camp at either Mesquite Spring Campground and/or Scotty’s Castle.

1.b are there other locations contractor can/cannot lodge personnel?

The contractor cannot camp at the Mesquite Spring Campground or Scotty’s Castle. Contact the Stovepipe Wells Village for possible lodging.

33 Please provide the fees/fee schedule structure for construction water.

Coordinate fee structure for water with applicable Park personnel as detailed in subsection 105.02 of the Special Contract Requirements.

34 1.In one of the Amendments you mention all native soils can go to the Mixing Tables, what about the removal of base & gabion rock, can this go there too? The base could be used by the Park on other Roads and the rock could be used for other uses as needed.

This is already in the Park and approved material when installed and will save a lot of money if allowed to stay in the Park. In a lot of cases these materials will be mixed with native materials while

1. The contractor can re-use gabion and revet mattress rock, as well as base rock, provided those materials meet the requirements of the contract. The gabion, revet mattress, and base rock can also be incorporated into native material and used to fill over the top of gabions or revet mattress. Asphalt millings cannot be reused as embankment or aggregate and need to be disposed of at the mixing tables. If there is any gabion and revet mattress rock and base rock, that is not incorporated into the work, it can be stockpiled at the mixing table.

removing. Leaving as much in the Park as possible will save time, money and truck trip safety on the roads.

2. After driving the Project yesterday, Bonnie Clare and West Side Roads were closed and we could not get in to see those. It is hard to make sure all is covered if we cannot get to all locations so you know.

3. There is one location on Beatty Cut Off that you show to install barrier rail & revet mattress, but both already exists, how will the removal of rail & mattress be paid?

4. There is four locations on North Highway that you show to install barrier rail & revet mattress, but both already exists at each location, how will the removal of rail & mattress be paid?

5. At Emigrant Canyon, most of the locations have heavy weed growth, how do you want this removed? Do you want it hauled off or kept as top soil?

6. You show Mud Canyon being closed, can we close Daylight Pass as well? Once Daylight Pass & Mud Canyon are complete, we would open those and could we then close Beatty Cutoff?

2. Coordinate with Chuck Thompson (Charles_thompson@nps.gov, 760- 786-3262, 760-641-1071) for access to Bonnie Clair and West Side Roads.

3. The intent is to extend the barrier rail and revet mattress system in these locations, so it is not expected that existing barrier rail and revet mattress will be removed. Please refer to Amendment A005 plan C Sheets.

4. The intent is to extend the barrier rail and revet mattress system in these locations, so it is not expected that existing barrier rail and revet mattress will be removed.

5. Any vegetation that is removed at sites should be disposed of outside the limits of the Park. at the mixing tables or as approved by the CO in accordance with SCR Subsection 203.05.

6. Daylight Pass Road and Beatty Cutoff Road cannot be closed during construction.

mailto:Charles_thompson@nps.gov