Central Monorail Hoist Commissioning

Project Background:

A global neutrino physics community is developing a leading-edge, dual-site experiment for neutrino science and proton decay studies, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, IL (the Near Site).

The facility required for this experiment, the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment-US (LBNF/DUNE-US), is an internationally designed, coordinated, and funded program.  Once it is completed, it will comprise the world's highest-intensity neutrino beam, at Fermilab, and the infrastructure necessary to support massive, cryogenic detectors installed deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), 800 miles (1,300 km) downstream, in Lead, South Dakota (the Far Site).  The LBNF/DUNE-US Project is also responsible for the facilities to house the experiment's near detectors on the Fermilab site.

The LBNF/DUNE-US beamline will be built off Fermilab's existing Main Injector, extracting a proton beam from this source and using magnets to direct the proton beam toward the DUNE detectors.  Once the beam direction is established, the protons will smash into a target creating secondary particles, most of which decay into neutrinos in the decay pipe and continue traveling in the same direction.  An absorber will stop the leftover secondary particles, creating a very pure beam of neutrinos for the experiment.

More information may be found at https://lbnf.fnal.gov.   

Under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FermiForward), is leading the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) Project to enable a world-class program in neutrino physics.  Specifically, the LBNF Project (https://lbnf-dune.fnal.gov) provides the infrastructure for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which will consist of two large liquid argon-based neutrino detectors located nearly a mile underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD.

Description of Services Required:

The excavation of the caverns at LBNF has been completed.  A contractor has installed the central monorail beams in the North and South Caverns.  Due to discrepancy in specifications, the beams were not installed in compliance with CMAA guidelines for straightness.  Fermi Forward is seeking to engage from qualified crane and hoist contractors who are interested in performing the Central Monorail Hoist Installation Statement of Work (SOW).  The SOW requires modification, installation, and commissioning of the new hoists/trolley assembly on the existing beams in the North and South caverns.  Two 20-ton CMCO electric monorail hoist and trolley assemblies have been purchased and are currently warehoused in Omaha, NE.

This Sources Sought/Request for Information is to inform potential offerors of this opportunity and to build an interested supplier list for the purpose of direct solicitation once the associated Request for Proposal (RFP) is released.  The RFP is anticipated to be released by the end of May 2025.

FFDG intends to solicit for the Central Monorail and hoist installation  using the lowest price technically acceptable, and the result will be the award of one Subcontract. 

Anticipated Dates for Solicitation/Award:

Solicitation Posting: End of May 2025

Solicitation Period: 7 weeks

Award of Subcontract: September 1, 2025

Period of Performance: September 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.

The dates and details specified in this notice are subject to change based on the final Request for Proposal document. 

Response:

Interested parties are requested to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to @fnal.gov   Submission of an EOI does not commit an interested party to submit a proposal, nor does failure to submit a response preclude an interested party from submitting a proposal. 

While there is no specific format required, EOI’s should include the following information: 

1.    Prospective offerors business name, including parent and member organizations 

2.    Point of contact, including a telephone number and an email address

3.    Brief description of your firm’s capabilities