Attachment 07 - Section L Submission Instructions 05222025.pdf

12445125R0002 Call for Qualifications GWJ Virginia Creeper Bridge and Trail Reconstruction

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

Section L

Instructions, Conditions, And Notices to Offerors or Respondents

L.1 PROVISIONS

FAR 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR): https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far (Provisions are located at FAR part 52 and begin with 52)

Department of Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (AGAR):https://www.acquisition.gov/agar (Provisions are located at AGAR part 452 and begin with 452)

Deviations to provisions may be viewed at: Policies & Regulations | USDA

FAR 52.204-7 System for Award Management (OCT 2018) FAR 52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (AUG 2020) FAR 52.204-22 Alternative Line-Item Proposal (JAN 2017) FAR 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors--Competitive Acquisition (NOV 2021)

Alternate I (OCT 1997) Alternate II (OCT 1997)

FAR 52.222-5 Construction Wage Rate Requirements—Secondary Site of the Work (MAY 2014) FAR 52.225-10 Notice of Buy American Act Requirement—Construction Materials (MAY 2014)

Alternate I (May 2014).

FAR 52.225-12 Notice of Buy American Requirement—Construction Materials Under Trade

Agreements (MAY 2014) Alternate I (May 2014).

FAR 52.228-17 Individual Surety – Pledge of Assets (Bid Guarantee) (FEB 2021) AGAR 452.215-72 Amendments to Proposals (FEB 1988)

FAR 52.216-1 Type of Contract (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract resulting from this solicitation.

(End of provision)

FAR 52.228-1 Bid Guarantee (SEP 1996)

(a) Failure to furnish a bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for opening of bids, may be cause for rejection of the bid.

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-52 https://www.acquisition.gov/agar https://www.acquisition.gov/agar/part-452-solicitation-provisions-and-contract-clauses https://www.usda.gov/da/ocp/ppd/policies-regulations

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

(b) The bidder shall furnish a bid guarantee in the form of a firm commitment, e.g., bid bond supported by good and sufficient surety or sureties acceptable to the Government, postal money order, certified check, cashier's check, irrevocable letter of credit, or, under Treasury Department regulations, certain bonds or notes of the United States. The Contracting Officer will return bid guarantees, other than bid bonds –

(1) To unsuccessful bidders as soon as practicable after the opening of bids, and (2) To the successful bidder upon execution of contractual documents and bonds (including any necessary coinsurance or reinsurance agreements), as required by the bid as accepted.

(c) The amount of the bid guarantee shall be __5__ percent of the bid price or $_2 Million __, whichever is less.

(d) If the successful bidder, upon acceptance of its bid by the Government within the period specified for acceptance, fails to execute all contractual documents or furnish executed bond(s) within 10 days after receipt of the forms by the bidder, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract for default.

(e) In the event the contract is terminated for default, the bidder is liable for any cost of acquiring the work that exceeds the amount of its bid, and the bid guarantee is available to offset the difference.

(End of provision)

FAR 52.233-2 Service of Protest (SEP 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from steven.alves@usda.gov.

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

FAR 52.252-5 Authorized Deviations in Provisions (NOV 2020)

(a) The use in this solicitation of any Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 1) provision with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the date of the provision.

(b) The use in this solicitation of any Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 4) provision with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the name of the regulation.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

2.0 PROCUREMENT OVERVIEW

A. This is an Unrestricted competitive acquisition. In accordance with FAR 52.219-9, a Small

Business Subcontracting Plan must be submitted for the award of a single contract. This RFP includes the requirements, evaluation criteria, and method of evaluation.

B. This acquisition is a Two-Phase Design-Build (DB) procurement in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 36.3. One firm-fixed-price contract will be awarded to the responsible Offeror whose proposal the Government determines conforms to the solicitation, is fair and reasonable regarding pricing, and whose proposal offers the best overall value to the Government considering both price and non-price factors described in Section M.

1. Phase I Call for Qualifications where all potential sources can submit proposals demonstrating their capability to perform. The Government will select and invite no more than three (3) offerors to submit proposals for Phase II.

- Phase I only involves non-price criteria.

- Do not include either design or pricing information in the Phase I proposal.

- An offer guarantee is not required for Phase I

2. Phase II Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued only to successful offerors determined to be the most highly qualified in Phase I. Phase II requires offerors to provide a technical proposal and a price proposal using the SF 1442. The technical proposal requires a complete design solution to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. The design solution shall include

- proposed construction methods

- phasing and timelines.

- The design and construction cost for this base contract and all options is estimated to be between $200,000,000 - $300,000,000.

- Three (3) hour Pre-Proposal Conference to discuss scope and potential design and technical solutions before offerors submit proposals.

- A 90-minute oral presentation of the design and technical solution.

- During Phase II, the Government intends to make an award without discussion;

however, it reserves the right to establish a competitive range and conduct discussions, if deemed necessary, following the evaluation of initial proposals.

2.2 Notice to Offerors

A. Offeror’s Certifications and Representations will be obtained from the System for Award

Management (SAM). Offerors shall ensure that their information in SAM is current and complete prior to the Phase I response date. Anomalies and inconsistencies in the Offeror’s Certifications and Representations may result in the Offeror’s Proposal being deemed non-responsive.

B. There will be no public opening of the proposals. Upon receipt, all proposals become Government property.

C. Phase I Call for Qualifications are due at the date and time listed in Section L and the SAM.GOV Notice. All submittals must be electronic PDF.

D. Phase II Request for Proposals are due at the date and time listed in Phase II RFP. Late submissions will not be accepted. It is the offeror’s responsibility to make sure it is received before the submission deadline. Only electronic submission will be accepted. The contractor is encouraged to call the Contracting officer or Contract Specialist to confirm receipt of ALL volumes.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

E. Phase II Request for Proposals are expected to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with Section M. To aid in evaluation, the proposal shall be clearly and concisely written, neatly presented, indexed, and logically assembled.

F. Failure to submit any of the information requested by this solicitation may be cause for unfavorable consideration.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

PHASE I Call for Qualifications Deadlines

Conferences and Presentations Offerors are cautioned that, notwithstanding any remarks, clarifications, or responses given at the conference, all terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged unless they are changed by amendment. It is the responsibility of each offeror, prior to proposing, to seek clarification of any ambiguity created by amendment of the solicitation.

Non-Mandatory Call for Qualifications Pre-Proposal Conference Number One: 02 JUNE 2025, 1000ET. This virtual meeting will be held via Microsoft “Teams” Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 263 350 414 644 Passcode: oE3jR6Ek Or Telephone Call In +1 202-650-0123 380411144#

Non-Mandatory Call for Qualifications Pre-Proposal Conference Number Two: 09 JUNE 2025, 1000ET. This virtual meeting will be held via Microsoft “Teams” Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 274 372 137 918 Passcode: 27p4ar2z Or Telephone Call In +1 202-650-0123 738806933#

Question Submittal Deadline for Phase I: 30 JUNE 2025. Questions must be submitted by 30 JUNE 2025. All questions will be consolidated, answered, and then posted to sam.gov by COB each Friday afternoon, when possible. Individual responses will not be provided. All questions must be in writing and submitted to: Steve Alves Steven.Alves@usda.gov with a CC: to richard.huffman@usda.gov.

Phase I Mandatory Deadline: 09 JULY, 1300ET. All Phase I Call for Qualification Volumes must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on 09 JULY 2025. Phase I volumes include:

- Volume IA Cover Letter with Bonding and Safety Record

- Volume IB Factor 1: Technical Qualifications – Approach and Delivery (see Section M for details) o Technical Approach (Composition and Management of Proposed DB Team) o Experience (Construction and Design) o Capability/Capacity to Perform (Construction and Design) (see Section M for details)

- Volume IC Factor 2: Past performance of the offeror’s team (see Section M for details)

It is the contractor’s responsibility to send the PDF in sufficient time to ensure that it is received by the government by the designated time. Submittals received after the designated date and time will not be considered

- Email Subject Line: 12445125R0002 Call for Quals_Company Name_SUBMITTAL

- Send to: Steven.Alves@usda.gov and info copy to Richard.huffman@usda.gov

- You are encouraged to call 859-745-3131 to confirm receipt. The USDA-FS will try to send a receipt confirmation within 1 hour of receipt.

- ** IF YOU CANNOT SEND VIA EMAIL DUE TO FILE SIZE, YOU SHALL CONTACT THE CO AT LEAST 3HRS

BEFORE SUBMITTAL DEADLINE FOR ACCESS TO A SUBMITTAL SHAREPOINT.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_M2U2MDgxNTYtNGUxNC00MTNjLTk3ZWEtMDFiYWQ5M2EzMWIz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ed5b36e7-01ee-4ebc-867e-e03cfa0d4697%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22a5c9a1d9-88c9-4681-ab80-f2decaccff11%22%7d tel:+12026500123,,380411144 https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODRkYzFlOWEtYWRhMi00YjQzLWExZjgtMzY1MmQ4YTgwYzUy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ed5b36e7-01ee-4ebc-867e-e03cfa0d4697%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22a5c9a1d9-88c9-4681-ab80-f2decaccff11%22%7d tel:+12026500123,,738806933 mailto:Steven.Alves@usda.gov mailto:richard.huffman@usda.gov

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

PHASE II

G. Phase II Pre-Proposal Site Visit AND Conference. The USDA Forest Service will host contractor site visits and the preproposal conference on four days. The site visit will begin at 0900 and last until 1600 ET.

The trail may/may not be able to be viewed in one session so three days have been allocated.

** Use of “drones” must be coordinated with the George Washington and Jefferson (GWJ) National Forest Supervisor and safety/communications office prior to use**

WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING

THE SITE IS AN ACTIVE HAZARDOUS DISASTER ZONE AND ESCORT BY A USFS REPRESENTATIVE

IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

• MOST AREAS ARE NOT ACCESSIBLE BY MOTOR VEHICLES

O HIKING IS THE ONLY ACCESS. THIS IS HIGHLY STRENUOUS!

• CLIMBING ON UNEVEN SURFACES, WET SURFACES, WATERFALL CROSSINGS, AND

STEEP GRADES ARE REQUIRED.

• SOME AREAS MAY ONLY BE ACCESSIBLE BY ONLY ONE PERSON AT A TIME. PATIENTS

WILL BE REQUIRED DURING THE SITE VISIT!!

• PERSONAL SAFETY GEAR IS MANDATORY

O STURDY BOOTS AND HARD HATS REQUIRED

O NO LOAFERS OR SNEAKERS; YOU WILL BE ASKED TO REMAIN BEHIND!

WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING

H. Phase II Pre-Proposal Conference

The Pre-Proposal Conference will provide an opportunity to visit the site and to clarify the Government’s project intent, scope and to answer questions.

Date: 23-25 July 2025 Preproposal Conference/Site Visit / Time: 0900- 1600 ET Conference Location:

Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center 1 Partnership Circle, Abingdon, Virgina 24210 POC: Beth Christensen, 540-553-4216 Email: beth.christensen@usda.gov

The conference will be conducted primarily in person but may include some virtual attendance by contractor team members for a portion of the conference.

The Government will issue an amendment documenting clarifications to project intent and scope if necessary.

I. Phase II Design Submission Presentation

The Design Presentation is intended to provide a comprehensive and integrated overview of the proposed technical solution and to answer questions about the solution from the TEB. The information in the oral presentation and presentation materials will be evaluated. The Design Presentation will have the following format:

1. The presentations will be held virtually using Microsoft Teams, tentatively scheduled for 04 SEP 2025. Presentation times will be assigned to each Offeror by the Contracting Officer within 24 hours of the Phase II Proposal Submission.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

2. The Government will provide the location for the presentation, a projection screen only, power, tables, and chairs. All equipment and materials needed for the presentation are the responsibility of the Offeror. Internet connectivity will not be provided.

3. The Presentation will be attended by the Government’s Contracting Officer, the TEB, and a non-participating assistant.

4. Offerors are limited to bringing no more than five of the key personnel listed in the Management Proposal and one non-participating assistant. The proposed Project Manager is required to attend the Presentation.

5. Presentation Timeline: The Government is allocating 90 minutes for the Design Presentation in the following time budget with a hard stop after each portion. Offerors will be provided time before and after the presentation for setup and take down without the TEB present.

Minutes Activity

10 before Offeror’s team admitted to the presentation room for setup 0-5 Welcome, Introductions, and Distribution of printed copies. The

TEB Chair will indicate when the clock starts.

5-50 Offeror’s Design Presentation 50-85 Question and Answer Session with the TEB 85-90 Closeout and Next Steps

6. The Government will maintain a record of the presentation and the Question-and- Answer session questions and will use this information during the evaluation of proposals for evaluation purposes. The presentation may be recorded.

7. The Presentation shall include only information contained in Volume II of the Phase II Proposal. No price information is to be provided during the Presentation

J. Inquiries and Questions

1. Submit all questions and inquiries to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist listed in the SAM.gov advertisement by email by the date listed in the Solicitation.

2. The Government will provide responses to Offeror’s questions by the date listed in the Solicitation. Unless the question deals with issues of a proprietary nature, responses will be posted via amendment to this solicitation announcement at SAM.gov. No hard copy, electronic copy, facsimile, or telephonic replies will be issued.

K. Proposal Expense and Pre-Award Costs:

1. Phase I. No stipend shall be provided for the preparation of Phase I Call for Qualification packages.

2. Phase II

a. The successful offeror (1 firm) in Phase II Request for Proposal (RFP) shall not receive a stipend.

b. Each unsuccessful offeror (no more than 2 firms) in Phase II Request for Proposal RFP will be awarded a stipend of no more than $100,000. The stipend is not intended to cover all proposal costs but rather enhance competition by defraying some costs. To be considered eligible to receive the full stipend value, the proposal shall:

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

i. Be submitted by a responsible offeror

ii. Conform to all RFP requirements and contain no material deficiencies or omissions

iii. Receive an overall rating of Satisfactory by the TEB

iv. Receive a rating of Satisfactory for all non-price criteria.

L. Limitations in Contracting The Architect-Engineering (A-E) design firms that prepared earlier versions of the technical requirements documents are prohibited from serving on the DB team. At this time, there are no known conflicts. Previous AE firms providing design services for the VA Creeper for individual projects/tasks are not excluded. Projects that utilized Hurricane Helene funding/Disaster funding for the VA Creeper should submit an Organizational Conflict of Interest inquiry to the USDA-FS for disposition.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

2.3 General Submission Instructions

A. Submit proposals to the Contracting Officer directly. Offerors who respond to this solicitation acknowledge and agree to all the instructions and procedures described in this solicitation.

Please provide only the information requested. Supplemental information will not be evaluated.

B. The Government will begin immediate review and evaluation of the submissions following the RFP closing date and time.

C. Proposals will be evaluated on the factors listed in Section M of this Solicitation.

D. Proposals will first be reviewed to ascertain whether they have been submitted in accordance with the instructions for each Phase before being evaluated against the Evaluation Criteria.

Failure to follow the instructions may result in the proposal being removed from further consideration for award.

E. Offerors are cautioned not to include assumptions, caveats, or exceptions within any part of their submission. Inclusion of assumptions, caveats, or exceptions to the requirement of any kind may result in the quote no longer being considered. Offerors should ONLY submit information explicitly requested in this RFP.

F. Cross Referencing. Each volume other than the price proposal volume shall be written on a stand-alone basis without referencing other volumes of the proposal. Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity.

Information required for proposal evaluation which is not placed in its designated volume will be assumed to be omitted from the proposal.

2.4 Common Format Requirements

A. The proposal shall be organized into volumes listed in the submission instructions for each phase.

B. The cover of each Volume shall contain the following information:

1. The solicitation number and name. Include acknowledgement of any and all amendments posted to the solicitation announcement.

2. Volume Number and Title

3. Date printed

4. The name, SAM Unique Identification Number, mailing address, physical address, and website of the offeror.

5. A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation.

6. Name, title, telephone, and email of the offeror’s primary point of contact who is authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government in connection with this solicitation.

C. Table of Contents: Provide a table of contents for each volume.

D. Page Formats

1. Prepare all volumes for double sided printing.

2. A page is one single-side piece of paper containing words, charts, tables, drawings, or graphics. Use US letter page sizes in portrait orientation for the majority of proposal content. US tabloid pages in landscape orientation may be used to supplement content and count as two pages.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

3. Provide a minimum one-half inch margin on all sides. Pages using forms required by this solicitation do need to conform to the one-half inch page margin.

4. Large format pages for drawings and graphics: This size is only allowed in Phase II Proposals. Use Architectural D size sheets in landscape orientation. These drawings shall be legible and readable at a half size reproduction on Architectural B paper. Large format pages and half-size reproductions shall be printed single-sided only.

5. Page numbering: Number each page sequentially in the form “Page M of N”, where M is the page number and N is the total number of pages. Include the cover page, table of contents, and pages intentionally left blank in the count of pages. Place the page number in the lower outside corner of each page.

6. Page Limit: See Section M for specific details.

7. Font size: Minimum 11 point size for body text and 9 point size for tables and charts.

8. Header information:

a. Place the Offeror’s Short Name in the outside corner

b. Place the solicitation number and date printed in the inside corner.

E. Electronic Volumes

1. File name conventions: Use the format “Solnum_P#_TeammShortName_V#.pdf” where:

a. Solnum is the solicitation number

b. P# is P1 for Phase I and P2 for Phase II

c. TeamShortName is a shortened version of the Team’s name. For example, if the team’s full name is “The Smokey Bear-Woodsy Owl Awesome Builders” the short name could be “SmokeyWoodsy”. The Short Name

d. V# is the volume number

2. File format: PDF generated from authoring software with a maximum file size of 8 MB.

Price forms in Phase II shall be submitted in both PDF and MS Excel.

F. Printed Volumes – None. ALL data must be submitted in PDF format. The contractor is responsible for ensuring the pdf is 508 compliant and accessible and compliant.

Section L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices Ver 05222025

2.5 Phase II Pre-Proposal Conference

No documentation from offerors for this conference is required.

2.6 Phase II: Request for Proposals Response Requirements

A. Electronic copies are due at the date and time listed in the RFP. Physical copies are due at the

Design Presentation and shall match exactly the content in the electronic versions.

B. Design Proposal

Volume II A Design-Build Technical Approach and Presentation

- Factor 3: Design and Technical Solution (Design Solution, Materials and Project Schedule)

This factor requires both written submittals and a Project Presentation and Problem- Solving Session.

- Factor 4: Project Management (Key Personnel Qualifications, Quality Control, Safety, Project Management Software System and Implementation, and Staffing)

- Factor 5: Small Business Utilization

C. Volume IIB: Price Proposal (Factor 6)

- Offerors shall submit a Firm-Fixed Price proposal for all work described in the Solicitation.

- Provide a detailed breakdown of the line-item pricing following the requirements listed in

Attachment 001 Schedule B at a minimum. The pricing form should be in MS Excel or equal Format (unrestricted size). Missing or incomplete pricing data may result in the quote no longer being considered, or downgraded.

(see Section M for details)

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE – 29 AUG 2025: It is the contractor’s responsibility to send the PDF in sufficient time to ensure that it is received by the government by the designated time. Submittals received after the designated date and time will not be considered

• Email Subject Line: 12445125R0002 RFP_Company Name_SUBMITTAL

• Send to: Steven.Alves@usda.gov and info copy to Richard.Huffman@usda.gov

• You are encouraged to call 859-745-3131 to confirm receipt. The USDA-FS will try to send a receipt confirmation within 1 hour of receipt.

• ** IF YOU CANNOT SEND VIA EMAIL DUE TO FILE SIZE, YOU SHALL CONTACT THE CO AT LEAST 3HRS

BEFORE SUBMITTAL DEADLINE FOR ACCESS TO A SUBMITTAL SHAREPOINT.

L.1 PROVISIONS