Lamar_County_EWP_Sites_Showing_Notes.pdf

Site Showing Notes/Question and Answers Lamar County EWP Streambank Stabilization

Held August 23, 2016

CORRECTIONS:

The Material Specification 592: Geotextile included in the solicitation was not the most up-to-date version. The updated version dated January 2014 has been added to the solicitation and shall be used in lieu of the older version.

The following sites’ county road numbers on the drawings are incorrect. The corrected road numbers are as follows:

Site LA 1-07 is located on County Road 13500 Site LA 1-06 is located on County Road 12230

The note on each plan map drawing which states, “All cables and fasteners shall be galvanized…” is incorrect.

All fasteners must be galvanized; however, the cables do not have to be galvanized. See Construction Specification 83: Timber Fabrication and Installation, Section 7a, Item 8: Cable shall meet the requirements of ASTM A603, however, the galvanization is not required.

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The contractor shall call the 1-800 number on the drawing for location of underground utilities a minimum of 2 days prior to work start.

Earthfill compaction shall be Class C. Where equipment can not be routed over the earthfill for adequate compaction, mechanical hand compaction equipment, as approved by the NRCS engineer, shall be used.

The county has offered the use of the fire hydrant behind their county barn for the contractor to fill up tanks to spray the sand-cement bag wall as specified in Construction Specification 432, Section 7a, Item 3.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q: Does the county have a place for us to haul woody debris from the construction site?

A: According to the Commissioner, there is a landfill in Precinct 1. Also, burning of woody debris is acceptable (see Construction Specification 1: Clearing, Section 8).

Q: Are benchmarks established in the field?

A: Yes, the contractor shall use temporary benchmarks as established in the field by NRCS.

Q: Will a printed copy of what the CO discussed at the beginning of the meeting be available for bidders?

A: All of the information is in the solicitation.

Q: Is traffic control system also going to be approved by the county?

A: Construction Specification 9, Traffic Control, Section 7a, Item 2: No, but all traffic control shall meet the requirements of the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways. There are no additional requirements of Lamar County.

Lamar Co Showing, AG-SPEC-S-16-0037

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Q: Is water running in any of these sites now?

A: Yes.

Q: What is the required wall thickness of the pipe?

A: Construction Specification 13, Piling, Section 14a, Item 1b: 0.365” wall thickness is required.

Q: If a 12” pipe is cheaper, can it be used in lieu of the 10” pipe for pilings?

A: A material submittal for the specific pipe in question shall be routed through the CO/COR and a decision will be made at that point.

Q: Does the pipe have to be galvanized?

A: No.

Q: Does the NRCS have any sources for pipe for pilings?

A: No.

Q: Can pipe be pounded in a “snug” predrilled hole without cementing if rock is encountered during piling installation?

A: If the hole is smaller than the piling, and the piling can be forced into the hole without deformation to the piling, then yes. If this action was taken, the NRCS engineer would be notified and give approval of the installed piling in the field.

Q: Are rock volume 10-15% variations in effect on this contract?

A: Please refer to FAR Clause 52.211-18 on page 5 of the solicitation package. No adjustments will be made to the contract price for estimated quantities that vary 15% more or less than the estimated quantity stated in the bid schedule. Adjustments may or may not be made for quantities outside this range consistent with the clause.

Q: Are concrete bags made of scrim acceptable for the sand-cement bag riprap walls?

A: Yes, scrim is acceptable.

Q: What if U.S. made rebar is not available for the sand-cement bag walls?

A: If not available, it must be brought to the COR/CO’s attention and material specs from the manufacturer shall be submitted.

Q: The lumber specs call for a 3” thick timber, all I’ve found is 2-3/4” thick timber, is this acceptable?

A: Yes, a 2-3/4” thick timber’s “nominal” thickness is 3”. Construction Specification 83: Timber Fabrication and Installation, Section 7a, Item 2: Timber materials used for the walls shall be surface dried, treated, southern pine, SPIB Grade No 2 or better and a nominal thickness of 3”.

Q: Are dummy pilings to be cut square on the bottom or do they have to be cut to form a curvature with the top of the culvert?

A: If dummy pilings are installed over a solid metal pipe (i.e. a tank pipe as labelled on the drawings), then the bottom of the dummy piling shall be cut to fit the curvature of the pipe and welded continuously. However, if the pipe is a corrugated metal pipe or a plastic pipe, then no welds are required on the bottom of the dummy piling, and therefore the dummy pilings on these types of culverts may be cut level. Drawing, page 17, 6th paragraph from the top in the notes section states, “An anchor weld shall be made where dummy piling are placed over a culvert made of metal plate other than galvanized corrugated metal. The bottom of

- 3 -the dummy pilings shall be cut to fit the curvature of the culvert and a continuous weld made around the base of the dummy pilings”

Q: Have utilities been checked?

A: No, the contractor shall call 811 to get the utilities marked on each site prior to construction. Drawing, each plan map page, “The contractor shall call 1-800-545-6005 for the location of underground utilities.”

Q: Will the cement pipe be replaced on the site located on Patriot Drive (site 1-04)?

A: Yes, both pipes will be replaced on site 1-04 with two 4’ diameter pipes. The county will pick up old pipes.

Q: Who is going to provide necessary fill dirt and/or culverts?

A: The county has agreed to provide fill dirt and culverts as needed. Fill dirt orders will be routed through the

NRCS construction inspector to the county as early as possible before the dirt is needed.

Q: On site 3-01, is there space between the culverts to insert full pilings into the ground?

A: The culverts for site 3-01 are to be replaced with 4’ culverts by the county. In placing the new culverts, the contractor shall ensure enough space exists between culverts for a full piling to reach the ground. See note on page 14 of the drawings, center of the page.

Q: On site 4-02, how deep should the deadman anchors be placed below the road surface?

A: All deadman anchors shall be placed as specified in Sections B-B and C-C on page 16 of the drawings.

Q: Is the deadman vertical or horizontal?

A: The deadman piling shall be placed horizontal as drawn. See page 16 of the drawings.

Q: Can the deadman cable be looped from headwall to deadman and then back to the headwall continuously?

A: Each cable must be individually looped and clipped to itself. No “looping” is permitted.

Q: Does the cable have to be galvanized?

A: No.

Q: Do the nails have to be galvanized?

A: Yes, all hardware (including nails) are to be galvanized. See Construction Specification 83: Timber

Fabrication and Installation, Section 2, Material, Paragraph 2.

Q: Are the eyebolts actually true eyebolts, or are they all-thread?

A: They are true eyebolts. See Detail A on page 17 of the drawings.

Q: Can material be stockpiled on the county yard?

A: The county has indicated that they will provide space for the contractor to stockpile construction materials

(except rock).

Q: Is the scale on the drawings correct for determining pipe placement along the drawn headwalls?

A: The headwalls, as drawn on the plan map for each site is “to scale” according to the scale located on each map. However, there is no guarantee that the printer that the contractor is using won’t distort or stretch the drawing (“fit to page”) and therefore cause the scale to be incorrect.

Q: Has NRCS done soil borings to determine what is underlying?

A: No.

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Q: Are there “rail car” culverts on any of the sites?

A: Yes, those culverts are labelled as “tanks” on the drawings.

Q: Is there any chance the job will be “shut down” during school bus times?

A: The county has agreed to supply the contractor with the approximate bus times to plan construction activities. Also, the county has agreed to let the school districts know about the construction so they can plan bus routes accordingly.

Q: How are rain days counted?

A: The contract solicitation has the average number of rain days planned for each month of the year. That number of days should be added to the contractor’s planned work schedule. Any weather days over the average amount listed in the contract will be added to the end of the contract as a modification to the performance period.

Q: Can two jobs be worked simultaneously?

A: No, only one crew is permitted to work one job at a time.

Q: Can two pieces of pipe be welded together to form one piling?

A: Yes, but each welded piling may only have 1 field weld splice as described on page 17 in the drawings, 2nd note down from the top.

Q: Can multiple pieces of deadman pipe be welded together to form the deadman anchor pilings?

A: Yes, welds shall be a single-vee grove, complete penetration weld.

Q: Can “epoxy-coated” pipe be used for pilings?

A: Yes, as long as the pipe is one of the materials outlined in Construction Specification 13: Piling, Section

14a, Item 1b.

Q: Is the contractor required to top the road with asphalt?

A: No. However, road surfacing material (gravel, asphalt, and oil sand) shall be stockpiled separate from other excavated materials. Stockpiled road surfacing material shall be placed after all other earthfill and earth backfill has been placed, including any additional fill materials provided by the county. The stockpiled road surface materials shall be placed as a final surface. See Construction Specification 420: Site Preparation, Section 6, page 420-3, second paragraph from the top of the page.

Q: Is there a maximum allowable gap between the culverts and the timber headwalls cut to fit around them?

A: Yes. Where timbers abut against the culvert, the timbers shall be cut to fit the curvature of the culvert with a gap not to exceed ¾”. See page 17 of the drawing, 10th note from the top.

Q: Can the pilings be stacked on the county road right-of-ways?

A: Yes, as long as there are no safety concerns for vehicular traffic.