Attachment B SOW.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

SCOPE OF CONTRACT

1. Furnish equipment, operator, supplies, and materials to blade designated Forest Service roads within the Chippewa National Forest.

2. There will be one (1) to as many as three (3) blading cycles. The intent is to finish all three blading cycles provided weather conditions allow. The first cycle will normally begin around May 1, with the last blading cycle being finished before frozen ground conditions in the fall.

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION

1. Work is to be performed on Forest Service Roads within Beltrami, Cass, and Itasca Counties of Minnesota.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. Equipment Requirements

Graders shall be self-propelled, engine-driven, tandem axle, pneumatic tire, cab, one-person controlled and operated with a wide range of blade adjustments and capable of performing maintenance work.

2. Size Classification

Road grader minimum requirements are 25,000 pounds, 150 horsepower and a twelve foot moldboard. The cutting edges of the blade shall be in good condition, and free from deformation due to excessive wear. All controls, including brakes, shall be in proper working condition to allow full control of the grading at all times.

3. Inspection of Equipment

Inspection of equipment will occur upon delivery to the job. Clean all road grading equipment prior to starting the contract to remove mud, dust, and miscellaneous debris from the tires, undercarriage, and body of the equipment. Additional cleaning will be required whenever equipment leaves North Central Minnesota or has worked in an area known to contain noxious weeds. This is to prevent the spread of noxious weeds.

Equipment that does not meet contract specifications may be rejected. Replace or correct deficiencies of rejected equipment within four calendar days after notice of rejection.

4. Operator

The Contractor shall furnish with each piece of equipment, a qualified and experienced operator, capable of operating the equipment in terrain where the work is to be performed. Operator shall operate the equipment at the design speed or the maximum safe speed feasible under prevailing conditions. The Government may require the replacement of an operator who is considered incompetent, careless, or otherwise objectionable. Operator shall wear OSHA approved safety gear while operating equipment and comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (as amended). The operator must be able to hold a smooth and even grade line with a minimum of skips and/or gouges and without excess windrowed material. Final determination of operator’s ability to satisfactorily perform contract requirements will be made by the Forest Service Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

5. Safety

The machine operator and any helpers shall comply with all State and local safety requirements. The grader shall be equipped with an operating flashing amber light on top of the cab, a minimum of one rearview mirror adjustable from inside the cab, backup alarm, slow-moving-vehicle sign and high visibility flags attached to both ends of the moldboard. If operation will occur during hours when vehicle lighting is required, the grader shall have an operational lighting system.

The contractor shall be responsible for placement and maintenance of traffic warning signs when necessary. These signs shall be visible to all traffic approaching the active work area. They shall be moved as work progresses so that at all times there is an adequate warning of the road machinery ahead.

Work shall be planned so each road or section of road is completed at the end of the work day and neither berms nor loose materials shall be left on the roadway overnight. In the event of an emergency, unsafe sections of road shall be signed, lighted, and barricades erected if necessary for safe travel.

On narrow roads, the operator shall stop to allow oncoming traffic to pass. The operator shall stop in all cases where oncoming traffic does not have at least 10 ft. of good driving surface free of loose gravel beyond extended grader blade.

The contractor shall be responsible for all damage to property and to persons that occur as a result of the contractor or the contractor's agents or employee's fault or negligence, and shall take adequate precautions to prevent such damage.

6. Equipment and Material Storage

Obtain written approval from the COR prior to storage of any equipment, materials, or personal items on Forest Service property.

7. Communication

The contractor shall furnish fully functional mobile telephones for each operator. The telephone shall be carried and accessible to the operator at all times while working on the contract. Blade operators shall update COR on progress and completion date of completed roads on Tuesdays and Thursdays of every week. Mobile telephone numbers must be given to Inspector and COR before work is started. This is incidental to other pay items.

8. Damaged structures, trees, or other items

The contractor shall be held liable and is responsible for any damage caused by his personnel or equipment to any culverts, signs, posts, riprap, or structures. Repair or replacement shall be at the Contractor's expense and at no additional cost to the Government. Ordered repair of culvert inlet or outlet shall be by field methods such as, jacking out or cutting away damaged metal which obstructs flow, or replacing a section if beyond repair. All cut edges and damage to galvanized coating shall be cleaned and treated with zinc-rich coating. Wounds on trees caused by grading will be treated with a commercial tree dressing.

9. Pollution and Erosion Control

During all operations under this contract, the Contractor shall exercise reasonable measures to direct surface runoff water to stabilized waterways and to keep the drainage systems functioning effectively to prevent or minimize soil erosion and pollution of water and other resources. All refuse, including garbage, rubbish, and solid or liquid wastes from the contractor’s operations, including camps, parking areas and equipment maintenance areas shall be stored and collected in a sanitary manner and disposed of in a State approved disposal site.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

1. Surface Blading

Surface blading shall include an adequate number of passes, as agreed to by the COR, to achieve the surface blading standard described herein from road shoulder to road shoulder. Normally, single lane roads will require 2-3 passes, and double lane roads will require 3-4 passes. The contractor will also be required to blade the entire width including turnouts and intersection fillets.

The following standard industry practices will be reviewed during inspections to determine the desired results will be met:

A. Blading to restore surface without loss of aggregate/gravel surfacing or disturbance or loss of road base material. Performance on gravel-surfaced roads shall be accomplished so the base is not disturbed, and no surface material is lost in ditches or over the road shoulders. Blading of un-surfaced roads shall be performed so no base material is lost. Sections having segregated materials after spreading shall be reprocessed and spread.

B. Ruts, chuckholes, and washes shall be repaired by scarifying or cutting to the bottom of such defects to provide for uniform compaction of roadbed material. High blading, or any method which merely fills depressions with loose material, does not eliminate the defect or provide for uniform compaction and is therefore not acceptable.

C. No special consideration will be given for rutting or other surface disturbances that can be considered the result of normal use or road activity. If a road, or any substantial section of a road, appears to be excessively rutted, washed out or otherwise damaged beyond expected normal use, the contractor shall notify the COR before proceeding to grade this section.

D. Blading and shaping operations shall not undercut road back slopes.

E. At the conclusion of the blading and shaping operations the roadbed shall be smoothed and dressed to produce a uniform blade and cross section and a surface free of hollows, depressions, and projections above the adjacent roadbed surface. No berm or ridge or any material shall be left along either shoulder of the roadbed unless directed by the COR.

F. The finished grade shall be reasonably smooth with a crown.

Grading shall include providing for drainage of surface water directly into the side ditches at the shoulder without interruption by false ditches formed by accumulation of excess surfacing material. Blending into the road shall conserve all surfacing material. Removal of oversize rock and sod off the road will be permitted only at locations approved in advance by the COR. If the COR determines excessive gravel is being pushed into the ditches, the contractor will be liable for that gravel replacement.

Grading will proceed in a logical continuous pattern. Grading will not proceed when road conditions do not warrant it, such as extremely wet or dry weather or when the road, in the judgment of the COR, does not need grading. Graders shall not be run at speeds that will cause bounce in grader and/or leave ripples or washboard in roadbed. Grading will not change or alter existing roadway width, shoulder alignment or ditches without advance approval from the COR.

Contractor shall take reasonable steps to ensure all suitable material, which has been worked onto the roadbed edge by traffic or maintenance activities, be reclaimed onto the roadbed.

Total roadbed width, including turnouts, turnarounds, and parking lots shall be bladed and shaped to produce a surface which is uniform, consistent to grade, and crowned or cross-sloped as indicated by the character of the existing surface. Established grasses and other vegetation shall not be removed from areas outside the traveled way except as incidental to providing drainage.

Undercutting of the road surface at the roadbed edge and leaving a berm is unacceptable.

At intersections, the roadbeds of the side roads shall be bladed to assure a smooth transition.

All fallen trees, limbs, brush, and other obstructions in the roadbed shall be removed. This work may require a chainsaw. If this removal appears to be excessive, notify the COR immediately.

No material shall be deposited in ditches, or in such places as to interfere with the road drainage. Material shall be "feathered out" or piled such that no berms are created.

There are short sections of pavement at several bridges. No material shall be deposited on this pavement and no material shall be deposited on any part of a bridge deck.

METHOD OF MEASUREMENT

The work for single lane roads and double lane roads will be measured and paid for by the linear mile of roadway bladed in conformance with the specifications, to the nearest 0.10 miles. Recreation sites will be paid for as a lump sum.

BASIS OF PAYMENT

The accepted quantities will be paid at the contract price per unit of measurement as listed in the bid schedule. Payment will be full compensation for the work prescribed in this section. Prices and payment will be full compensation for the work.

Recreation sites shall include campground loops, ski area loops, boat access (including roads and parking area). See road grading lists for more details.

FUEL ADJUSTMENT

Fuel adjustment will be made to 50% of the contract price when the cost of diesel fuel at the time work is performed (Current Fuel Index) exceeds 7.5% of the cost of diesel fuel at the time of bid closing (Base Fuel Index). Diesel fuel prices will be based on the average wholesale price for diesel fuel, as recorded in Cass Lake, MN.

Example:

3.35/3.00 = 1.0875 50% of the Contract Price will be multiplied by 1.0875