FW-006-24 -Ballard Big River Pump Station

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, is issuing an Invitation to Bid (FW-006-24, RFB 660 2400000596) for construction of the Ballard Big River Pump Station in Ballard County, Kentucky. This project involves designing and constructing a comprehensive water pumping and delivery system serving the Ballard Wildlife Management Area located in La Center, Kentucky. The scope of work includes constructing an intake structure on the Ohio River; installing a 72-inch diameter ductile iron intake pipe; building a cast-in-place concrete pump station with three submersible pumps capable of delivering approximately 30,000 gallons per minute; constructing distribution piping (48-inch force main) to Shelby Lake outlet; installing an electrical and controls tower; building access roads; constructing a double box culvert stream crossing over Garr Creek with associated riprap stabilization, sheet piling, and wing walls; and installing new power line infrastructure. The project is subject to multiple environmental permits and authorizations, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit No. 39, Kentucky Water Quality Certification, Kentucky Pollution Discharge Elimination System stormwater coverage, and a Stream Construction Permit extension, with compensatory mitigation requirements of 0.52 wetland credits. Time-of-year restrictions apply, including a bat window (October 15 through March 31) and fish spawning restriction (April 1 through June 30 with no in-stream operations permitted). The original bid submission deadline of May 15, 2024, was extended to May 29, 2024, and further extended to June 5, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A mandatory site visit was conducted on April 25, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Ballard Wildlife Management Area, 864 Wildlife Lodge Road, La Center, Kentucky 42056. Bidders were required to submit questions by May 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and electronic bid submission is required through the Commonwealth's eProcurement system with all documents combined into a single PDF; bidders must register in the Vendor Self Service (VSS) system at https://vss.ky.gov prior to submission. Complete plans and specifications are available at no charge through the State of Kentucky Plan Room at https://www.stateofkyplanroom.com, and technical questions should be directed to Thomas Pluemer at Ducks Unlimited (tpluemer@ducks.org, 719-661-3671), procurement questions to Amanda Lewis (Amanda.lewis@ky.gov), and project management inquiries to Nick Ray (nick.ray@ky.gov, 502-234-0910).

The solicitation documents do not specify set-aside designations, restrictions on bidder types, disadvantaged enterprise requirements, or incumbent vendors for this project. There is no mention of required integration with existing infrastructure or technology beyond the specifications provided in the bid documents. The project includes Buy American requirements, with confirmation that Xylem can provide Flygt pumps meeting these requirements, though an exemption will be requested for Waterman sluice gates. The solicitation documents do not disclose the estimated contract value or budget range for this construction project. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources indicated that an Intent to Award letter would be issued within 30 days of bid opening and review, with the Notice to Proceed expected to follow thereafter. Deep boring is recommended at the culvert, pump station, and electrical tower vicinity to confirm bedrock elevation for H-pile foundation determination, and the successful bidder should be prepared to provide a 6,000 psi concrete mix design post-award for pump station and electrical tower base structures.