Synopsis DTFH6116R00026.pdf

Federal Highway Administration

Synopsis 693JJ322R000017

Title: Non-Personal Technical Support Services for the Office of Bridge & Structures

This synopsis is issued in accordance with FAR Part 5.203 in response to the mandatory requirement for a 15-day pre-solicitation notification. The purpose of this synopsis is to announce the Federal Highway Administration’s intent to issue a solicitation for a Full and Open Competition to procure Non-Personal Technical Support Services for the Office of Bridge & Structures pursuant to FAR Part 19.2.

The Government contemplates award of one or more Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts utilizing Firm-Fixed-Price and Cost-Plus-Fixed Fee pricing arrangements resulting from this solicitation. The anticipated period of performance is 60 months from the effective date of the contract. The solicitation will be issued during June 2022.

BACKGROUND

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), over 600,000 bridges are registered in the National Bridge Inventory (NBI). Oversized vehicles, usually crossing over or under a bridge in violation of posted height limits, are among the main causes of damage to bridges, bridge failure, or collapse. A recent survey of Department of Transportations (DOTs) across the country has shown that the impact damage to bridges because of over-height trucks is a nationwide problem. A frequently used protection measure against over-height vehicles is the installation of laser protection systems to provide advanced warning to such vehicles approaching low clearance bridges / tunnels. However, the risk of serious damages to critical bridges / tunnels remains if the driver does not follow the warning signs. Based on these facts, FHWA recently developed conceptual energy-dissipative system prototype using a combination of a steel box beam with aluminum honeycombs for the protection of bridge girders from over-height impacts. This innovative protection device can be an effective measure preventing damages to concrete and steel beams, while sustaining moderate to severe damage to itself, depending on the intensity of the impact. A transportation pooled fund (TPF) study, TPF-5(484), was established to complete the full development of the prototype, conduct the full-scale testing, field installation and evaluation of the effectiveness of the prototype against over-height truck impacts.

The innovative steel beam/honeycomb protective system is anticipated to dissipate a large portion of the energy from the colliding truck by crushing/deforming the honeycombs. The effectiveness of this device has been investigated in the FHWA recent study by large-scale testing in collaboration with the researchers at Hunan University, where over-height impact was simulated through a drop hammer system. With the success of the large-scale testing program, the actual field installation of full-scale model is deemed necessary to validate its effectiveness to protect existing bridge structures. This TPF project aims to address:

• Design of the full-scale testing program and selection of bridge site for the field installation;

• Custom construction and installation of the full-scale model of the prototype attaching to the existing facial girder of the selected structure(s); and

• Full scale testing and evaluation of the system with actual over-height truck impact on site.

The Government is seeking engineering services to conduct the research and field evaluation work for the “Development of Countermeasure Strategies for Protecting Bridge Girders against Overheight Vehicles Impact” study. This requirement is being funded through the Transportation Pooled Fund Project TPF-5(484). All work under this requirement will be performed according to the scope of work posted on the TPF website.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this requirement is to provide non-personal technical support on an as needed basis for the Office of Bridge & Structures (HIBS-10) to achieve the goals of the TPF study. All work under this requirement shall be performed through the issuance of specific task orders.

DETAILS

The solicitation will be released electronically via this Government Point of Entry (GPE) otherwise known as Federal Business Opportunities or www.fbo.gov. As such, no written, telephonic or other type of request for an advance copy of the solicitation will be entertained at this time. Potential Offerors are encouraged to register on www.fbo.gov to receive any further information in reference to the subject action inclusive of any announcements, and/or amendments to the solicitation after its release.

This requirement is full and open competition pursuant to NAICS Code 541330 – Engineering Services and PSC AS12 - Transportation R&D Services; Surface Transportation, Public Transit, and Rail; Applied Research.

No phone or email solicitations with regard to the status of a Request for Proposal (RFP) will be accepted prior to its release.

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