ATT 2 Mowing and Limbing Specs FR 2159.pdf

MOWING & LIMBING TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Equipment: Equipment shall be capable of cutting grass, weeds and woody plant growth with a rotary or disc type mower. A side arm mount mower will be needed to perform mowing of the areas outside the ditch line and limbing of trees. All equipment must have a minimum rating of 50 horsepower.

The equipment must be equipped with all safety devices required by Federal and State safety laws and regulations. The safety equipment must be in working order.

Side mount mowers shall be capable of cutting grass, weeds and small woody plant growth six (6) inches in diameter or less at mowing height. The mowers must have sufficient reach or length to perform the mowing without the tractor leaving the clearing limits.

Batwing mowers and other pull type mowers may be used for mowing of shoulders and ditches but may not be used in the limbing of the trees.

Each unit of equipment that is used in this contract will be subject to a pre-use inspection by the COR. Any equipment failing to meet the physical or safety requirements will be replaced or repaired at the Contractor's expense.

All equipment used in the mowing and limbing of roads will be cleaned prior to mobilizing to the project area. All equipment will be inspected by the COR before any road work begins. For roads identified in the contract as having documented non-native invasive plant infestations, all equipment will be cleaned at the identified roads prior to moving to the next road, in order to reduce the spread of non-native plant seeds.

All equipment used in the work shall be of the proper type, of a sufficient size, in good operating condition, and otherwise meet the equipment specifications for each type of maintenance work. The Contracting Officer may order removal and replacement of any unsatisfactory equipment at the Contractor's expense. All equipment must meet all Federal and State licensing and safety requirements. Exhaust stacks of all engines, except those with exhaust-driven turbochargers, shall be equipped with spark arresters that will prevent the expulsion of sparks. The moving of equipment shall be considered incidental to the contract.

Scope of Work: Roadside mowing consists of cutting grass, weeds and small woody plant growth six (6) inches in diameter or less at mowing height. This includes cutting around road signs, natural obstacles and appurtenances. The roadsides and roadbed will be mowed to a six (6) inch maximum height. Typically the required mowing width will be tree line to tree line. Where clearing limits are not clearly defined the COR will direct work to be done in this area. The mowing of the centerline of the road is also required as well as the turnarounds at the end of the road.

Required mowing width will vary from a minimum of five (5) feet outside the ditch line, or to the established clearing limit. See roadside mowing typical for details of areas to be mowed.

Contractors are encouraged to inspect roads before submitting a quote. No additional payment will be made for variable widths.

All cut and fill slopes too steep to mow with equipment shall be cut to a six (6) inch maximum height by hand or other method approved by the COR to a minimum of six (6) feet from the ditchline of cuts and the shoulder of fill areas.

Roadside limbing shall consist of removing all overhanging limbs from treeline to treeline to a fourteen (14) feet clearing height leaving no snags or stubs. Limbs shall be cut from trees as close to flush as possible. Brush and limbs removed shall be taken 5 feet beyond the tree line. Trees that are accidently damaged by the Contractors operation that are unsitely or would impair growth shall be cut six (6) inches above ground and also placed 5 feet beyond treeline.

Any cuttings that may fall in the traveled portion of the roadway shall be removed. This material shall be removed from the roadway and disposed of 5 feet beyond the tree line unless chipped or broken into small pieces by the equipment. Any cuttings that fall in the outlet ditches or the inlets and outlets of culverts shall be removed and disposed of 5 feet beyond the tree line. Do not place any cuttings in the outlet ditches. Cuttings along private property shall be hauled to and scattered on Forest Service property or chipped.

All rocks, trees, or other objects dislodged by the Contractor's operation that fall into the drainages or traveled way shall be removed. This also includes any rocks, trees, limbs and other objects already lying in the right-of-way.

The Contractor shall be responsible for damage to the road surface, road ditches, culverts, informational posts, guardrails, signs, etc.

Damaged items shall be replaced or repaired at the Contractor's expense.

Safety: The Contractor shall exercise due caution and care when working to prevent undue conflict with public users of roads. Roads shall remain passable to traffic during the Contractor's operations.

Flashing signals and a reflectorized slow moving vehicle emblem shall be installed on all slow-moving equipment (i.e., road graders, tractors, trucks, etc.) working on the roadway so that they are visible to oncoming traffic.

The Contractor shall post warning signs on both ends of the section of the roadway being worked to warn road users of the work in progress. The Contractor shall use a diamond shaped sign of at least thirty (30) inches in size. The signs shall read road work/machinery ahead and be placed at each end of the area being worked facing oncoming traffic. The signs are to be placed on the right side of the road to where they can be easily seen to allow traffic adequate time to respond. Signs will be moved as needed so that a sign does not precede or lag machinery by more than one mile. Signs shall be posted only when machinery is actually working.

All work shall be scheduled so that at the end of a day's work, the road is passable for the type of traffic normally using the road. Road Maintenance segments will generally not be permitted to exceed one (1) mile intervals on through roads and two (2) mile intervals on dead-end roads.