District 3 Herbicide Spraying Service

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 3 is seeking herbicide spraying services through an Invitation for Bids (IFB) to cover nine counties: Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union. The procurement encompasses non-selective herbicide applications to guide rails, joints, cracks, and ground areas around signposts and delineators; selective herbicide applications for targeted vegetation control; basal program applications using backpack sprayers; and stockpile and park-and-ride facility treatments across approximately 2,340 center line miles. Contractors must obtain all required Pennsylvania pesticide applicator licenses and certifications, provide a project manager and crew forepersons with 24-hour availability, maintain equipment in good working condition with real-time GPS tracking and application rate monitoring capabilities, and comply with PennDOT Publication 23, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (PA0270792), and all applicable federal and state pesticide regulations. Evaluation criteria include compliance with minimum wage requirements ($15.00 per hour with annual cost-of-living adjustments), insurance requirements (workers' compensation and public liability coverage of $250,000 per person and $1,000,000 per occurrence), domestic workforce utilization, and established pricing structure with potential two percent annual increases upon renewal. All bids must be submitted electronically through the PA Supplier Portal (www.pasupplierportal.state.pa.us) by Friday, March 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, with public bid opening conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. All questions must be directed to Sandra Duke at sanduke@pa.gov prior to Friday, March 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. EST, and all line items must be bid in their entirety or the bid will be considered void. The initial contract term is one year with the option for mutual renewal for up to four additional one-year terms, with an anticipated start date no earlier than April 1, 2026.

This procurement is designated as a Small Business Procurement, making it available exclusively to certified small businesses under the Small Business Procurement Initiative. Bidders must be registered in Pennsylvania's Vendor Master file, comply with the Reciprocal Limitations Act requirements by disclosing the state or country of manufacture and bidder residency information, and complete mandatory certifications including the Iran Free Procurement Certification Form (required for contracts valued at $1,000,000 or more), Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification, Worker Protection and Investment Certification, and Trade Secret/Confidential Proprietary Information designation forms. Contractors must complete the Contractor Applicator Licensing Form providing proof of a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Pesticide Application Business License and copies of all Pesticide Applicators Certifications ID cards, and must submit a completed vehicle and equipment list detailing all items to be used for contract work, including purpose, type, and capacity. Pennsylvania bidders and Pennsylvania-manufactured goods receive preference under state law, with preference percentages ranging from 2% to 15% depending on the state of origin and product category. The contract structure utilizes an established-price payment model with 60 percent payment upon completion of non-selective work, 20 percent after three to four weeks upon inspection and retreat of areas not meeting 90 percent vegetation control, and a final 20 percent upon completion of any additional retreatment; selective and basal programs are billed hourly with billable hours including application time, equipment calibration, minor repairs, travel between work sites, and required documentation. No specific budget ranges or award values are explicitly stated in the procurement documents, though the contract is structured to accommodate hourly rates for selective and basal work and per-mile-completion rates for non-selective herbicide applications.