Road Maintenance for the Ouachita National Forest

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service seeks road maintenance services for the Ouachita National Forest under a Total Small Business Set-Aside, with quotations due August 10, 2026. This is an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) Request for Quotation, not a traditional sealed-bid solicitation; quotations are submitted directly and no separate written solicitation will be issued.

Place of performance encompasses National Forest system roads in Arkansas and Oklahoma, with administrative reference to Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. The NAICS code is 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), and the small business size standard is $45 million. The Forest Service intends to award multiple IDIQ contracts to multiple vendors on a lowest-price-technically-acceptable basis.

The contract includes a one-year base period (August 17, 2026 through August 16, 2027) plus four optional one-year periods, potentially extending through August 16, 2031. Services encompass road blading, cleaning and reshaping of ditches, roadside brushing, overhead trimming, and aggregate placement across five ranger district groupings. Contractors must identify specific ranger district zones for which they wish to be considered and must price entire zones. Estimated annual quantities range from 150 to 470 miles of blading and 500 cubic yards of aggregate placement.

Equipment requirements include a motor grader with minimum gross weight of 22,500 lbs, 100 drawbar horsepower, and 7,000 lbs blade pull. Aggregate must meet Arkansas DOT specifications (AR4, SB-2, or 3" oversize) and originate from Forest Service-approved sources. Pricing must account for three diesel fuel price ranges ($5.00 variance) for each contract year. Evaluation criteria include technical approach, past performance, and fair and reasonable pricing. Quoters must provide experience documentation including at least three relevant projects completed within the last three years.