Amend_4_-_Attach_1_-_answers_to_questions.pdf

Amendment 000004

Solicitation No. F17PS00175

Title: Asphalt Paving Restoration Project at Lookingglass Fish Hatchery (Union County)

Answers to questions received as follows:

HATCHERY ACCESS ROAD PAVING

1) Question: The entire roadway is to be Mill Grinded & recompacted with 3-inches of new Base Rock and 3-inches of new AC Paving?

Answer: Correct. Per Detail 2/C500.

2) Question: When paving is complete there will be a 4-inch fog line painted on each side of the new roadway the entire length?

Answer: Correct.

3) Question: I cannot make out the Typical Sections on Sheets C600 and C601, regarding the roadway profile in between Stations?

Answer: The scope of the access road work is just to provide the new paved surface on the existing road per Detail 2/C500. The photos and drawing sections provided on Sheets C600 and C601 are provide AS REFERENCE INFORMATION ONLY to show the existing conditions. The cross-sections were from the original road construction and were provided to give available information on how the road was originally constructed. They are NOT intended to depict work for this project.

4) Question: It looks like there are sections of the roadway that will need fill. If the Hatchery Compound is also awarded can we mill grind the existing asphalt and use it for fill in the places in the roadway that require fill?

Answer: Response to Question 3 above should clarify this. The only roadway fill anticipated is the additional 3” of base rock called for in Detail 2/C500.

5) Question: The only fence in (Area 1) that I see is the Barb Wire Fence Extension at the new Cattleguard that will be installed, is this correct?

Answer: Correct.

6) Question: It looks to me that the new roadway will be 18’-8” wide from edge of pavement to edge of pavement, is that correct?

Answer: The road width varies throughout its length as shown on the plans. Much of the road is a single lane access road approximately 10’ wide. There are wider sections and turnout areas, however, that can reach a maximum of approximately 20’ wide. There is one isolated turnout (Station 60+50) that reaches 25’ wide.

7) Question: The existing Cattleguard that is supposed to be removed, what do you want done with it?

Answer: No salvage. Contractor responsible for disposal.

HATCHERY COMPOUND PAVING AREA

1) Question: Would we be able to grind the existing asphalt in the parking lot, stockpile it until the subgrade is approved to put the 8-inches of Base Course Rock on, and then place a 2-inch layer of grindings that have been stock-piled on the subgrade process and compact it? Than bring the base rock in on top of it to the desired grade needed for paving.

Answer: Yes. That would be acceptable.

2) Question: We have no definite square footage for the compound. There are no measurements on the plans and we were unable to do any of our own measurements today due to the amount of snow. I have taken measurements from google maps of my own but, I would hate to take that risk since this is a lump sum bid. If the bid schedule had a unit price per Square Yard it would be different.

Answer: Bid process needs to be lump sum, not unit cost. Drawings were developed using a topographic survey for the base. Bidders are required to determine their own quantities from scale drawings. Asphalt areas can also be viewed at the site. Proposed new asphalt match limits of existing asphalt.

3) Question: The only new fence I see for this portion is at the end of the first pond on Sheet C400 that says Replace this section of chain link fence & gate. Is it just the gate or is there a linear footage of new fence that is required?

Answer: Drawings attempted to show a dashed line around the fence to be replaced. Basically around 100 lf of fence at the northeast corner of the pond where the gate is located. The reason for that was interference between the fence and the new curb.

4) Question: Around the first pond on Sheet C400 it says save and protect existing fence. Are we going to have to remove the fence and reinstall it after the new curb and asphalt is in? I’m not quite following what the engineer’s intensions are here. Is the new curb going to be placed around the outside perimeter of the existing fence or just what you want to do here?

Answer: The portion of the fence around the NE corner of the pond noted above is in front of the curb to be replaced. Consequently we called for replacing the fence. As the fence progresses on around the north side of the pond, it transitions to behind the curb and we believe the curb and paving can be replaced leaving the fence in place. See the photos below.

P h o t o

N o r t h edge of pond. Fence behind curb. Photo 2: NE corner of pond. Fence in front of curb.

5) Question: On Sheet C400 where the existing vehicle gate is, are we stopping where the plans stop in the forks for the driveways, or are we going to go up those driveways to the houses? It has note 10 which states match existing transition grades at all doorways and structures. Since the are none of these where the plans show it stopping, I’m assuming that we are going with the same typical called out in the details 8-inches of rock and 3- 1/1-inches of AC that we are using for the rest of the Compound, up to the houses at the end of each of these lanes.

Answer: The new paving stops at the existing vehicle gate. New paving is shown by the darker shaded hatching. No new paving beyond the vehicle gate. The Note 10 symbols up around the residences are from an older version of the design and can be ignored.

6) Question: On sheet C401, Note 9 it states provide 4-inch wide parking stall striping. Will there be Handicap striping? I’m also assuming that the parking stall striping will be in yellow. This is all the striping I see for the compound.

Answer: There is one existing ADA parking stall at the hatchery building, but it sits on a concrete slab that will remain. No new ADA parking striping. Stall striping can either be white or yellow. The six stalls in front of the hatchery building are the only striping for the compound.

OVERALL (Area1 & 2) QUESTIONS

1) Question: We are set up in our equipment with GPS abilities and we have our hand held Topcon GPS Rover. Do you know if we would be capable to get reception there? If so we could get the DTM for the project and have a model made so that we would only need the surveyor’s to give us control points so that we can localize our Base Station.

Answer: Sorry. Cannot answer the question about GPS reception.

2) Question: Reading the Spec’s my understanding is that under the contract that the contractor is responsible for hiring an independent QC testing consultant. How many density tests are you requiring for the roadway? 1 every 100’ or so on?

Answer: Response: Compaction and density testing clearly called out in technical specification for base rock and paving:

Base Rock: one test every 10,000 sf.

AC: one test every 1,000 sy

3) Question: For the placement of concrete, all I see is the New curb on Sheet C400. Are you going to want cylinder test and if so how many?

Answer: Don’t need cylinder testing for the curbs. One cylinder test for the cattle guard concrete.

Additional questions:

Question 1 - The entrance road base required 6 inches of asphalt paving when typical roadwork is 2-3 inches. This effectively almost doubled the price.

Response: The design is calling for 3” asphalt paving. The typical paving detail for the access road (Detail 2/C500) calls for the following:

1. Mill, grind and compact the existing 2” of AC paving as base rock.

2. Provide an additional 3” of base rock over the top as a leveling course. Counting the existing 5” of base rock, this combination will result in a total of 11” of base rock.

3. Provide 3” (NOT 6”) of new AC paving.

4. Refer to attached clouded revised Detail2/C500.

Question 2 - My understanding is they were to rotomill the existing, spread that back on the road and compact it, and then pave it 2 or 3 times to get 6" of ACP. If you already have an existing ACP underlayment why would 3" not suffice?

Response: See response above.

Question 3 - Generally no surety will bond a job this size where one sub is doing most of the work unless the sub bonds back the job. This can add cost to the project unless the prime elects to lower their markup to offset the bond back costs due to lower risk to the prime.

Response: Since this is a federal project, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) do not permit circumventing bonding requirements for this project.

Question 4 - Locate costs for the road work could be eliminated if FWS confirmed there are no underground utilities the length of the roadway.

Response: Not sure locate costs are really that high, but may FWS can confirm that. Note that there are culverts crossing the road shown on the drawings.

Question 5 - Survey/staking costs could be eliminated if FWS allowed the prime to layout the road based on its existing pathway.

Response: This could be acceptable…confirm with FWS.

Question 6 - Testing costs could be dramatically reduced if FWS specified the number of tests and the LF that they be performed. I.E. instead of 1 compaction test every 100 LF specify 1 in every 500 LF, instead of 1 depth of ACP test every 100 LF specify 1 in every 500 LF etc.

Response: Compaction and density testing clearly called out in technical specification for base rock and paving:

Base Rock: one test every 10,000 sf.

AC: one test every 1,000 sy Does that seem that onerous.

Question 7 - Is there underground utilities along the road?

Answer: Everything is on poles, no underground.

Question 8 - I have not been able to find a section regarding liquidated damages for the contract. Please advise.

Answer: Liquidated damages have not been included in this requirement.

Question 9 - Payment Terms. The contract refers to the Prompt Payment Clause included in the contract. 52.212-4 also refers to prompt payment clause. The Prompt Payment Clause basically states that the government has 7 days to accept an invoice and then 30 days to make payment....is this the schedule to be used for progress and final payments?

Answer: Federal Acquisition Regulation (Far) clause 52.232-5 entitled “Payment under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts” is incorporated by reference in solicitation. Progress payments for completed/accepted work are typically processed monthly. Upon receipt of the approved invoice from the designated Contracting Officer’s (COR) representative, the contractor uploads the invoice to the “Invoice Processing Platform (IPP)” web site (see clause entitled “Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements – Invoice Processing Platform in the solicitation) and funds are transferred electronically to your bank account as established in “The System for Award Management (SAM)” web site. FAR clause 52.232-27 entitled “Prompt Payment for Construction Contracts” is also incorporated into this solicitation by reference and cites for progress payments to be processed within 14 days and a final payment request to be processed within 30 days of receipt of a properly executed invoice.

Question 10 - What is the warranty period?

Answer: FAR clause 52.246-21 entitled “Warranty of Construction” is included by reference in this solicitation. Unless the Government takes possession of any part of work before final acceptance, the warranty continues one year from date of final acceptance for work performed under the contract.

Question 11 - No form was referred to for the Bid Bond, is there a form they would like us to use?

Answer: Most firms typically use Standard Form24 to submit a 20 percent bid bond of contract price with their proposal. This form can be accessed through the following web site: https://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP

Question 12 - We cannot find the percentage for retainage. What is that percentage?

Answer: Per FAR clause 52.232-5 entitled “Payments under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts” that is incorporated by reference in solicitation, paragraph (e) of this clause provides the following guidance pertaining to retainage:

If the Contracting Officer finds that satisfactory progress was achieved during any period for which a progress payment is to be made, the Contracting Officer shall authorize payment to be made in full. However, if satisfactory progress has not been made, the Contracting Officer may retain a maximum of 10 percent of the amount of the payment until satisfactory progress is achieved. When the work is substantially complete, the Contracting Officer may retain from previously withheld funds and future progress payments that amount the Contracting Officer considers adequate for protection of the Government and shall release to the Contractor all the remaining withheld funds. Also, on completion and acceptance of each separate building, public work, or other division of the contract, for which the price is stated separately in the contract, payment shall be made for the completed work without retention of a percentage.

Question 13 - Uncertain about widths and possibly having to blast rock off the hill to make the road and amounts for base rock, excavations, etc. If expected quantities were known, this would be helpful. Concern regarding pages 26 and

27. These uncertainties may cause bid to come in higher. The description of the work around the hatchery grounds was fine.

Answer: Looking at Sheets 26 and 27 of the drawings, some historical cross-sections OF THE ORIGINAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION were provided at various intervals along with photographs. These show cutting, filling, etc. when the road was built. These were provided in an attempt to give some information about how the road was originally constructed and what was underneath it.

Question 14 - To accurately bid the project additional information must be provided by the engineers such as:

a. Quantities for Aggregate base, Asphalt, Excavation, Clearing and Grubbing Acreage, Rock Excavation, Fill, Erosion Control Quantities, Repurposed Asphalt Millings, Crushed Rock Shoulder and roadway pulverization

Answer: Bid process needs to be lump sum, not unit cost. Drawings were developed using a topographic survey for the base. Bidders are required to determine their own quantities from scale drawings. Asphalt areas can also be viewed at the site. Proposed new asphalt match limits of existing asphalt.

Question 15 - While working on the Area 1 section (roadway) will we be able to close the roadway off? Or will we be required to allow access to workers and pedestrians- and if so how?

Answer: For the most part we can close the road to the general public. However we will need to have the road open at least 3 or 4 times throughout the day to accommodate hatchery related personnel coming and going. We definitely need access to the hatchery from about 7:00-8:00 am Mon.-Fri and probably either 10:00-11:00am or 12:00-1:00 pm and again around 4:30-5:00 pm during the week. We can work with the contractors as needed on all but the early morning and late afternoon hours.

Question 16 - Is there an area to stockpile the excess spoils?

Answer: I would say no for the most part. We could probably accommodate a few dump trucks full at a time we just have no good place to store any large amount of spoils.