Bridging the Use, Innovation, Life, and Durability of Concrete (BUILD Concrete)
Closed Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002
- Agency
-
Federal Highway Administration
Department of Transportation
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541330 Engineering Services
- PSC
- AS12 Transportation R&D Services; Surface Transportation, Public Transit, And Rail; Applied Research
- Place of performance
- Washington, District of Columbia 20590, United States
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is soliciting research proposals through Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Call 002 to benchmark next-generation binder technologies for concrete construction, including geopolymers, chemical-based strength enhancers, recycled waste products, and novel binder chemistries. The primary objective is to accelerate the implementation of innovative cement and supplementary materials into engineering practice while ensuring durability and improved infrastructure integrity. Proposals must benchmark performance against industrially produced Class A concrete with a 28-day compressive strength target of 4000 psi, with evaluation focusing on both strength and service limit states including flexure, axial loading, shear, fatigue, deflection, and durability characteristics such as corrosion resistance, freeze-thaw resistance, and sulfate resistance. The FHWA will evaluate submissions based on technical merit, feasibility, and quality of proposed benchmarking methodologies. Critical deadlines include a white paper submission date of January 22, 2026, advisory notifications on February 9, 2026, and a full proposal due date of April 6, 2026, with questions due by December 8, 2025 directed to Raven.Merchant@dot.gov and HCFA-22sri@dot.gov.
This solicitation contains no small business set-asides and anticipates multiple awards with no fixed ceiling specified. The performance period is anticipated to be no longer than 24 months, with awards expected in April 2026. While specific award values are not disclosed in the provided materials, funding details are referenced in BAA Section 2.6. The solicitation particularly encourages proposals that include structural testing data on reinforced concrete elements, providing preference to such submissions. Place of performance is Washington, DC 20590. Prospective offerors should note that the solicitation was amended on March 6, 2026, and should refer to the complete BAA documentation for detailed submission requirements and technical specifications.
Notice text
2 versions
Update #2 · Latest ·
The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) associated with this BAA Call, 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003_A0001, can be found at the following link: https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/cae7c3525e1e4120b57a372b0b749233/view. Please refer to the BAA for detailed information and instructions.
The concrete industry has undergone more change in the last 10 years than it did in the prior 60 years. The driver for this was industry-led innovation, as showcased by the cement producer’s shift from traditional Type I/II cement to a Type IL cement as the majority on the market as of 2023. A primary barrier to entry for this new cement was state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), where their specifications and lack of familiarity with the new material resulted in a decade long delay of adoption from the establishment of an initial consensus material specification that was passed in 2012. This shift was a catalyst for innovation and change in the industry, with at least 30 different innovative materials currently known to be attempting to make similar inroads in the marketplace. These materials boast a variety of different claims including lower costs, improved performance, better supply, and lower variability. With ongoing challenges from diminishing sources of conventional supplementary materials like fly ash and seasonal shortages of silica fume and ground-granulated blast furnace slag, these innovative alternative cements and supplementary materials collectively represent a significant improvement to the supply chain for concrete production and construction.
The FHWA seeks to accelerate the implementation of next generation binder technologies into engineering practice while assuring these materials maintain proper durability and improve infrastructure integrity. This is anticipated to be accomplished in part through benchmarking performance of solutions which have achieved a suitable technology readiness level such that they may be implemented in an industrial trial. The FHWA is seeking solutions of market-ready binders to be benchmarked against (at a minimum) an industrially produced Class A concrete with a target 28-day compressive strength of 4000 psi (see Table 8.2.2-1, AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications), with mixture proportions preferably in general agreement with the offeror’s regional norms.
Update #1 ·
The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) associated with this BAA Call, 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003_A0001, can be found at the following link: https://sam.gov/opp/467ddb3e92da404f9cd1511478f64446/review. Please refer to the BAA for detailed information and instructions.
The concrete industry has undergone more change in the last 10 years than it did in the prior 60 years. The driver for this was industry-led innovation, as showcased by the cement producer’s shift from traditional Type I/II cement to a Type IL cement as the majority on the market as of 2023. A primary barrier to entry for this new cement was state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), where their specifications and lack of familiarity with the new material resulted in a decade long delay of adoption from the establishment of an initial consensus material specification that was passed in 2012. This shift was a catalyst for innovation and change in the industry, with at least 30 different innovative materials currently known to be attempting to make similar inroads in the marketplace. These materials boast a variety of different claims including lower costs, improved performance, better supply, and lower variability. With ongoing challenges from diminishing sources of conventional supplementary materials like fly ash and seasonal shortages of silica fume and ground-granulated blast furnace slag, these innovative alternative cements and supplementary materials collectively represent a significant improvement to the supply chain for concrete production and construction.
The FHWA seeks to accelerate the implementation of next generation binder technologies into engineering practice while assuring these materials maintain proper durability and improve infrastructure integrity. This is anticipated to be accomplished in part through benchmarking performance of solutions which have achieved a suitable technology readiness level such that they may be implemented in an industrial trial. The FHWA is seeking solutions of market-ready binders to be benchmarked against (at a minimum) an industrially produced Class A concrete with a target 28-day compressive strength of 4000 psi (see Table 8.2.2-1, AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications), with mixture proportions preferably in general agreement with the offeror’s regional norms.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002_A00001.pdf | ||
| 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002.pdf |
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