Question and Answers IFB W911S6-27-B-A001-102226.pdf

Question and Answers

IFB Solicitation W911S6-27-B-A001

1. Contractor Question: Is competition limited strictly to 8(a) participants whose business plans are serviced by the Utah District Office, or may an 8(a) participant serviced by another district compete upon obtaining SBA's determination that it has a bona fide place of business within the Utah District's geographic area under 13 CFR 124.501(k)?

Government Answer: A firm serviced by another SBA District Office may still qualify to submit a bid if it maintains a bona fide place of business in Utah that meets SBA’s applicable requirements.

The firm does not need to be part of the Utah District Office’s portfolio to meet this condition.

However, if they hold an office in Utah the SBA Utah District will need a request from the 8(a) participant’s servicing SBA District Office to conduct the required site visit.

Once that request is received, the site visit can be coordinated to determine whether the firm’s Utah location satisfies the bona fide place of business requirement.

2. Contractor Question: If the latter, 13 CFR 124.501(k)(2)(i) requires the bona fide place of business request to be submitted to SBA at least 20 working days before initial offers are due. With the solicitation issued 14 October 2026 and bids due 18 November 2026, that filing window closed on or about 20 October, less than a week after issuance. Would the Contracting Officer consider extending the bid due date by amendment to allow interested 8(a) firms time to obtain SBA's determination?

Government Answer: Page 1 of the solicitation block 3 date issued 14 October 2026 and block 13 has a date of 18 November 2026 all sealed offers are due; page 102 Section L Paragraph A (1) Offers shall be received prior to the closing date and time identified on SF 1442 (18 November 2026 by 1300 MDT) Bid Opening will be Wednesday 18 November 2026 promptly at 1300 MDT; paragraph A (2) No Hard Copy or Electronic submissions bids will be accepted or considered after 1300 MDT 18 November 2026; paragraph A(4) All questions regarding this IFB solicitation shall be submitted in writing no later than the 4 November 2026 1500 PM MDT. Any questions pertaining to the virtual site visit page 103 under 52.237- 1 is 22 October 2026 1500 MDT.

This gives the offeror’s a total of five (5) weeks to complete their proposal or bids. We are not sure how you came up with a 20 October filing window. We have looked in SAM.GOV and the IFB is showing exactly what has been addressed above.

3. Contractor Question: Alternatively, would the Government consider amending the solicitation to open the competition to 8(a) participants nationwide, given the specialized paving capability and bonding capacity required?

Government Answer: We can confirm that this solicitation is limited to 8(a) firms serviced by the SBA Utah District however, A firm serviced by another SBA District Office may still qualify to submit a bid if it maintains a bona fide place of business in Utah that meets SBA’s condition. However, we will need a request from the 8(a) participant’s servicing SBA District Office to conduct the required site visit. Once that request is received, the site visit can be coordinated to determine whether the firm’s Utah location satisfies the bona fide place of business requirement.

There is sufficient interest within the local Utah area to participate and we do not see a reason at this time to open the competition window nation wide.

4. Contractor Question: We wanted to respectfully ask whether the Government has identified sufficient qualified 8(a) contractors within this geographic restriction and whether there would be any consideration to expanding eligibility to qualified 8(a) firms outside the Utah District.

Government Answer: We can confirm that this solicitation is limited to 8(a) firms serviced by the SBA Utah District however, A firm serviced by another SBA District Office may still qualify to submit a bid if it maintains a bona fide place of business in Utah that meets SBA’s condition. However, we will need a request from the 8(a) participant’s servicing SBA District Office to conduct the required site visit. Once that request is received, the site visit can be coordinated to determine whether the firm’s Utah location satisfies the bona fide place of business requirement.

There is sufficient interest within the local Utah area to participate and we do not see a reason at this time to open the competition window nation wide.