I-29 Grade Raise and Borrow Ditch Crossing

Prequalification of Sources for

Interstate Highway 29 Grade Raise and Borrow Ditch Crossing (I-29 Grade Raise)

of the Fargo Moorhead Metropolitan (FMM) Area Flood Risk Management Project

This is a PREQUALIFICATION OF SOURCES announcement, issued in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 236.272.  No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.  All firms who submit their qualifications in response to this announcement will be notified of the Prequalification of Sources results.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St Paul District (USACE) seeks to create a list of qualified sources capable of constructing only the I-29 Grade Raise portion of the FMM Area Flood Risk Management Project.  USACE intends to issue an Invitation for Bid (IFB), which will include the I-29 Grade Raise Plans and Specifications, to the qualified firms on the resulting Prequalified Sources List.  No Plans and Specifications will be provided to firms during the prequalification process.

This North Dakota project consists of a grade raise of I-29 for approximately 5.6 miles to bring the roadway out of the 500-year flood elevation.  The project extends from south of Exit 50 (Hickson Interchange) to north of Exit 54 (Davenport/Oxbow Interchange) and includes an up-and-over where I-29 crosses the southern embankment near the Wild Rice River structure; bridges over the borrow ditch; a temporary by-pass to the east of, and parallel to, the existing I-29 roadway; replacement of the CR 18 bridge over I-29 along with both CR 18 bridge approaches, raising approximately 0.6 miles of CR 18 from the I-29 interchange to a point 0.2 miles east of CR 81; and, raising 0.4 miles of CR 81, including an up-and-over where CR 81 crosses the levee south of Oxbow.   

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement effort and the subsequent IFB is 237310 – Highway, Street and Bridge Construction, which has a small business size standard of $39.5M.

Bonding Requirements:  Pursuant to the Miller Act, Bid, Performance, and Payment bonds shall be provided for this project.  Notice to Proceed (NTP) will not be issued until after the selected bidder provides enough bonding to cover the work required as described in the project’s solicitation.

Firms must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for the Prequalified Sources List:

1. Single bonding capability of $75,000,000.00;
2. Demonstrate completion of at least one (1) Interstate Highway construction project and one (1) Interstate Highway bridge build construction project, each with a contract price of $10M or more within the last five (5) years.  One (1) project may satisfy both requirements if it includes both Interstate Highway construction and Interstate Highway bridge building construction;
3. Acknowledgement that the firm can successfully comply with the provisions of FAR 52.218-8 Utilization of Small Business concerns.
4. As described on the attached Prequalification of Sources Questionnaire, provide an Implementation Approach that meets the Standard of Acceptability for:
   1. Previous Related Project Experience; and,
   2. Management Team.

All firms submitting documentation meeting the standards for prequalification will be placed on the Prequalified Sources List and will receive fair opportunity to submit a bid.  Responses submitted to the Prequalification of Sources Questionnaire and associated narrative response will be used to determine qualification for the Prequalified Sources List.  Management Team members, including those from subcontractors, submitted for prequalification of the successful contractor will be incorporated into the award of the I-29 Grade Raise Project.  No substitutions will be allowed without the approval of the Contracting Officer; any substitution must meet the requirements stated in the Prequalification of Sources Questionnaire.  No pricing shall be submitted or accepted during the Prequalification of Sources. 

Requests for Information:  Interested firms shall submit questions concerning this announcement via Bidder Inquiry in ProjNet at www.projnet.org/projnet.  The period for questions ends at 12:00pm (Noon) Central on 23 November 2020.

1. To submit and review bid inquiry items, interested parties will need to be a current registered user or self-register in the system.  To self-register, go to the aforementioned web page and click on the BID tab, select Bidder Inquiry, Select agency USACE, and enter the Bidder Inquiry Key for this announcement (listed below), your email address, and then click <login>.  Verify all information on the next screen is correct and click <continue>.     
2. From this page, you may view all bidder inquiries or add an inquiry. 
3. Interested parties will receive an acknowledgement of their question via email, followed by an answer to their question after it has been processed by the Government Technical Review Team. 
4. The Solicitation number is:  W912ES21B0001
5. The Bidder Inquiry key is:  55MGNB-E3M3GQ
6. Interested Parties are requested to review the Bidder Inquiry System for answers to questions prior to submission of a new inquiry. 
7. The ProjNet Call Center can be contacted with questions concerning the use of Bidder Inquiry.  The Call Center operates weekdays from 8am to 5pm Central time.  The telephone number for the call center is 833-389-1097 and 217-367-3273. 

Responses to this Prequalification of Sources announcement shall contain: 

1. The completed Prequalification of Sources Questionnaire.  The questionnaire must be signed by a principal of the firm to be considered valid.  Submissions with electronic signatures are acceptable and have the full force and effect of ink signatures.  All questions on the questionnaire must be answered for the response to be considered valid.  Completed questionnaires shall be returned in Adobe PDF format.  Narrative attachments to the questionnaire shall be returned in Adobe PDF format.
2. Narrative attachment must be 20 pages or less; consecutively numbered; at least single spaced; on 8-1/2 x 11 pages; and, typed with a10pt or greater font.  Any pages received beyond 20 will not be considered.
3. A letter from your firm’s surety documenting the single bonding capability of at least $75M. 

Interested Firms shall respond to this Prequalification of Sources Announcement no later than 12:00pm (Noon) Central on Monday, 30 November 2020.  Email your response to toni.w.wasgatt@usace.army.mil and kenneth.j.eshom@usace.army.mil.  Responses received after the above due date and time will not be considered.

To be eligible for award of any Government contract, all firms must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov.  Registration with SAM is not a prerequisite for inclusion on the Prequalification of Sources List; however, firms are advised that the initial SAM registration process may take several weeks.  Bids received from prequalified firms that have not registered or completed their online representations and certifications may be rejected.  

Protests:  Protests, as defined in FAR 33.101, that are filed directly with an Agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall be served to the Contracting Officer, Mr. Kenneth Eshom, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, 180 5th Street E, Suite 700, St. Paul, MN  55101. 

This is a PREQUALIFICATION OF SOURCES announcement, issued in accordance with DFARS 236.272.  No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests, and no pricing shall be submitted or accepted during the Prequalification of Sources.