160785 Ice Merchandiser Rental and Bagged Ice Services

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is soliciting bids through Invitation for Bids (IFB #160785) for ice merchandiser rental and bagged ice delivery services across the Northern Virginia District, encompassing Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties. The procurement requires contractors to supply and maintain ice merchandisers (freezers) at 20 VDOT locations and deliver bagged ice on demand, with equipment specifications including single-door slant freezers with 40 cubic foot capacity at most locations and double-door freezers with 60 cubic foot capacity at select sites. Ice merchandisers must be delivered within five business days of contract award, and bagged ice deliveries must be completed within three business days of request, with all costs being all-inclusive and covering equipment rental, fuel, transportation, labor, and incidentals. Bid pricing must include separate line items for each location's annual ice merchandiser rental and per-10-pound-bag ice deliveries, with contract award going to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder based on the grand total. The contract period runs from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027, with four optional one-year renewal periods subject to price increases capped at the Consumer Price Index's "Other Services" category. Contractors must maintain minimum insurance coverage including workers' compensation, employer's liability ($100,000), commercial general liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), and automobile liability ($1,000,000 combined single limit). An optional pre-bid conference will be held virtually on March 30, 2026, at 9:00 AM EDT via Microsoft Teams, with bids due electronically through eVA no later than 11:00 AM EDT on April 10, 2026, and a virtual public bid opening scheduled for 11:30 AM EDT the same day.

This procurement is not set aside for small businesses, minority-owned businesses, or other disadvantaged enterprises, meaning all qualified vendors may compete on equal footing. Bidders must register in eVA and are subject to vendor transaction fees of 1 percent capped at $500 for small businesses and $1,500 for other businesses. Contractors must comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination laws, E-Verify requirements for employers with over 50 employees, drug-free workplace provisions, and Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Standards. No incumbent vendors or existing infrastructure requiring integration have been identified in the solicitation documents. Payment will be made within 30 days of invoice receipt and verification of satisfactory delivery, with invoices submitted to nova.invoices@vdot.virginia.gov. The Commonwealth reserves the right to cancel the contract upon 60 days' written notice and to add or delete service locations at its discretion. While no specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the solicitation, prospective bidders should note that costs will be evaluated based on the comprehensive bid pricing submitted for all 20 locations and their anticipated ice delivery volumes over the contract period.