Heavy duty trailer mounted ditcher rebid

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is seeking to procure 25 units of new, extra heavy-duty, PTO-driven trailer-type ditchers designed for highway ditch construction and cleaning operations through an Invitation for Bid solicitation. The procurement requires fully assembled and serviced ditching equipment that is ready for immediate operation, with specific requirements including compliance with OSHA and ANSI standards, warning lights, safety features, and radio frequency interference protection. Bids must be submitted online at http://www.procurement.sc.gov by January 11, 2023, at 2:30 PM, with vendor questions due by December 15, 2022, at 12:00 PM. A public bid opening will be conducted at SCDOT Headquarters in Columbia, SC, with teleconference participation options available. The contract will be awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, with award notification scheduled for February 9, 2023, and a contract term spanning from February 22, 2023, to February 21, 2028, which includes an initial one-year term with four optional one-year renewals.

The solicitation does not explicitly mention set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or specific vendor restrictions. The successful bidder must provide comprehensive training, including a factory-trained one-day training school at the SCDOT Equipment Depot for the first unit and subsequent one-day training in the county of assignment for additional units. Contractors are required to provide service literature in CD format, operator training materials on DVD, and maintain a list of factory-authorized parts, service, and warranty locations within South Carolina. The equipment must be warranted against material and workmanship defects for a minimum of twelve months from the in-service date, with a specific warranty claim procedure established if no authorized dealership exists within a two-hour driving distance of the unit's assignment location. Replacement parts and filters must be available from major U.S. manufacturers. While the solicitation does not specify a precise budget range, the procurement involves 25 ditching units to be delivered to the SCDOT Equipment Depot located at 1500 Shop Road, Columbia, SC 29201.