Solicitation - Attachment 3 - Justification and Approval - Brand Name - Geogrids.pdf

MVSJA-22-0001

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (See AFARS 5153.303-5)

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, St. Louis

District Contracting Office

2. Description of Action: This procurement is for a new contract using construction general funds for Melvin Price Locks and Dam Design Deficiency Corrections Project (Reach 2) Upper Wood River Levee. The solicitation will be a Best Value Trade Off with 100% Small Business Set-Aside competition strategy. The contract type will be firm-fixed-price.

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

a. The contract for constructing twenty-five (25) partially penetrating relief wells, modifying twenty-five (25) existing D-type relief wells, extensive dewatering due to elevated groundwater, articulated concrete mattress erosion protection, ditch formation and regarding, access road installation, extension of existing IDOT storm drains, and installation of automated piezometers in Madison County, Illinois. The estimated total contract value is over $10,000,000.

b. Included in this contract is installing geogrid and non-woven textile under the access road and manholes for soil stabilization in the soft marsh wetlands. These products will improve the overall long term performance of the road, man holes, and headwalls by providing them additional bearing strength for long term performance.

c. The TENSAR brand name TriAx Geogrids and combination geogrids plus non-woven geotextile are to be purchased in order to properly and successfully construct the access road and associated features within the access road. The estimated cost for these items will be around $125,000.

4. Authority Cited: 10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(c), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background: The location of the access road is located within the impoundment area of East Alton No. 1 Pump Station adjacent to Hwy 143. This area is a very soft marsh wetlands that’s inundated throughout the year.

b. Justification: The justification and approval is to cover only the portion of the acquisition which is brand-name to one manufacturer. Tensar’s TriAx Geogrids and combination geogrids plus non-woven geotextile offers improved performance, delivering longer service life and greater cost savings. TriAx Geogrid’s multi-directional properties leverage triangular geometry, one of construction’s most stable and widely utilized shapes, to provide an enhanced level of in-plane stiffness. Its triangular structure, coupled with improved rib and junction geometry, offers the construction industry an improved alternative to conventional materials and practices. TriAx Geogrid is manufactured from a punched polypropylene sheet oriented in multiple, equilateral directions to form its triangular apertures, resulting in high radial stiffness throughout the full 360 degrees. This feature yields a more efficient product that delivers optimal in-service stress transfer from the aggregate to the stabilizing geogrid.

The triaxial geogrid was developed and introduced in the late 2000s as an improvement to the biaxial form, particularly for civil and geotechnical engineering applications where the applied loads are not limited to one or two directions (for example, pavements, haul roads, working platforms and general soft soil stabilization). Since its introduction TriAx has undergone significant testing and evaluations and has become the industries preferred form of geogrid for all roadbed and stabilization applications.

Even products that appear to be very similar and have “equal” strength may not perform the same. Tensar has performed rolling wheel traffic testing on a Tensar biaxial geogrid and another non-Tensar biaxial geogrid of equal tensile strength: this testing showed the two products do not perform the same. As a result, each product must stand on its own data. Attempts to apply property data from one product to other ‘similar’ products introduces the risk of non-performance. Further, and despite much research and effort, there are no proven correlations between physical properties of geogrids and performance in roadbed and stabilization applications. To assure performance of biaxial or triaxial geogrids in these applications, designs must be based on performance and validation data of the specific geogrid product in consideration such as what was designed for this project.

Impact: Utilizing Tensar’s products will create a more stable access road and long term performance of the associated features such has the manholes and headwalls. Utilizing the Tensar’s products will allow for a thinner cross-sectional area within the access road which will results in savings of over 2000 yd3 of material. A key technical aspect to this project is the depth of excavation. The landside clay blanket thickness in this area is extremely important and excess excavation depths should be avoided at all measures.

Utilizing Tensar’s product will allow less excavation. Less excavation and disposal will save the government time and money. With soil subgrades as soft as we are anticipating at this site, it is common to have problems installing both a geogrid and geotextile independently of each other and doing so properly. Walking on the geosynthetics causes depressions and water accumulates which is difficult to keep taught, so there can be multiple wrinkles/folds which leads to performance issues.

Tensar’s products create a combination geogrid plus nonwoven geotextile which eliminates these issues and creates a better sound product which creates time savings and improved long term performance for the government.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Any contractor can purchase the required brand name products to be used in performance of the contract, due to these items being commercial off the shelf products for public purchase.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Geotechnical Geosynthetics is a relatively small community and even smaller when looking at an individual fabric/grid type or dimension requirements. Research was performed to evaluate different manufactures who design and manufacture geosynthetics. Attempting to have the specific geogrid/geosyntheteic fabricated or purchased from a manufacturer will increase cost significantly or reduce reliability for the relatively small quantity that is required.

8. Market Research:

Sources Sought - Melvin Price Flood Control Project has two phases (Reach 1 and Reach 2); both contain similar scopes of work and similar dollar value. A formal Sources Sought for Melvin Price Reach 1 Flood Control Project was performed from 20 April 2020 through 4 May 2020 on Beta.SAM.gov using Notice ID W912P920Z0051. Two responses were received, both small businesses; however, only one of those small businesses was determined to be technically capable of performing the work required based on their response submittal.

Site Visit - A Solicitation for Melvin Price Reach 1 Flood Control Project was posted from 6 January 2021 through 5 February 2021 on Beta.SAM.gov using Notice ID W912P920R0053. During the Solicitation phase, a Site Visit was conducted on 14 January 2021, and all interested vendors were encouraged to attend, but it was not mandatory in order to provide a proposal. Representatives from eighteen (18) contractors attended the site visit. Fifteen (15) were small businesses; one (1) was a large business; and two (2) were unknown.

Similar Requirements - Four (4) proposals were received in response to the Melvin Price Reach 1 Flood Control Project Solicitation from three (3) small businesses and one (1) large business. During evaluations, all four business were found to be at least “acceptable” in all technical evaluation factors. None of the contractors that responded to the Sources Sought in May 2020 provided a proposal.

Small Business Industry Day - The St. Louis District Small Business Deputy conducted an Industry Day and Capability Briefing on 10 February 2021 where the Melvin Price Lock & Dam Flood Control Project was presented as an upcoming requirement. Three (3) small business contractors expressed interest in performing the work and provided capability statements. Two (2) of the small business contractors may be capable of performing the work required for this project.

9. Interested Sources:

a. Drilling Service Company (DSCO) (4HA33)

b. Southern Contracting, LLC (48KK6)

c. Meyer Contracting, Inc. (1KUR8)

d. Kamadulski Excavating & Grading Co., Inc. (1FHH3)

e. Davinroy Mechanical Contractor, Inc. (1CVM5)

f. SYTE Corporation (339E0)

g. VuCon, LLC (6DZ53)

h. Genesis 360 LLC (7GPY3)

10. Other Facts: N/A

11. Technical Certification

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Christopher Redell Date:

Title: Civil Engineer, Geotechnical Signature: ______________________________

12. Contracting Officer Certification & Approval

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of Melvin Price Locks and Dam Design Deficiency Corrections Project (Reach 2) Upper Wood River Levee on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C.2304(c), FAR 6.302-1(c), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Name: Jacob Prebianca Date:

Title: Contracting Officer Signature: ________________________________

Note: The brand name portion of this contract action does not exceed $700,000, the Contracting Officer is the approval authority.