ITB - Maintenance and Associated Services for Fiber Optic Cable Communications Systems and Related Items for the Harris County Toll Road Authority

Harris County, Texas is soliciting bids through an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for Maintenance and Associated Services for Fiber Optic Cable Communications Systems and Related Items for the Harris County Toll Road Authority, with bids due by March 9, 2026. The procurement covers a one-year contract beginning approximately March 1, 2026, with four optional one-year renewal periods available. The services encompass preventative, predictive, and emergency maintenance; inspection; testing; upgrades; repairs; and construction of fiber optic cable systems across HCTRA's 132-mile toll road network, including the Hardy Toll Road, Sam Houston Tollway, Westpark Tollway, Fort Bend Parkway, and Katy Managed Lanes. The successful vendor must provide qualified personnel including three fiber optic technicians, two electricians, and four common laborers, all with specified certifications including International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA) Fiber Optic ITS Certification Level II for technicians and a minimum of three years of verifiable fiber optic maintenance and construction experience within the past six years, plus two years of utility locating experience. The contractor must maintain 24/7 emergency response capability with defined service levels (Level A: one hour maximum response; Level B: four hours maximum; Level C: five working days maximum), and all work must comply with applicable federal, state, and local standards including TXDOT specifications, National Electric Code, OSHA requirements, and ANSI/TIA standards. Pricing submissions include lump-sum bids for preventative maintenance and cost-plus pricing for parts, with emergency, predictive maintenance, and construction work billed at submitted hourly rates and material costs based on manufacturer price schedules. A pre-bid conference is scheduled for February 24, 2026 at 10:00 A.M. CST in Houston, Texas, with attendance recommended but not mandatory. Liquidated damages apply for utility locate delays ($750/day), emergency response time failures ($750/day), fiber damage ($2,500/day for inoperability), and construction project delays ($500/day).

Harris County's minimum wage policy requires all contractors and subcontractors to pay directly assigned workers a minimum of $21.65 per hour, adjusted annually, applicable to contracts valued at $50,000 or greater; this requirement applies to this procurement and all tiers of subcontracting. Contractors must comply with Harris County's general bidding requirements, including submission through Bonfire (online preferred) or sealed hard copies by 2:00 P.M. local time, and must execute Form 1295 disclosures of interested parties filed with the State of Texas Ethics Commission prior to submission. All bids must include a completed Subcontractor Listing Form, Tax Residence Certification, and Bid Acknowledgement form, with proof of current Harris County tax account status and no delinquent taxes as of the bid due date. Contractors must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including Workers Compensation ($1,000,000 per accident), Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), Automobile Liability ($1,000,000 combined single limits), Umbrella/Excess Liability ($1,000,000), and Professional/Errors & Omissions Liability ($1,000,000), with Harris County named as Additional Insured on a primary and non-contributory basis; all policies must be issued by carriers with an A.M. Best rating of at least A-VII. The solicitation documents do not identify a specific budget or award value; pricing is to be submitted by the bidder on forms provided in the specifications. No incumbent vendors or set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are identified in the available documentation, though contractors may identify proposed subcontractors holding certifications as Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB), Minority/Women Business Enterprises (MWBE), or Section 3 entities on the Subcontractor Listing Form. The contractor must integrate with existing HCTRA fiber optic infrastructure, which includes dual and single duct banks owned and operated by either HCTRA or TxDOT across multiple maintenance facilities and plazas, as illustrated on the provided fiber optic cable and duct bank ownership map dated October 2025.