Sand Bypass Seasonal Operations

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is seeking a contractor to provide comprehensive seasonal operations for the Indian River Inlet Sand Bypass Facility located within Delaware Seashore State Park. The primary objective is to move a minimum of 20,000 cubic yards of sand material monthly from the south side beach across Route 1 to the north side beach area, with a system capacity to transfer 100,000 to 250,000 cubic yards over a nine-month operational period from Labor Day through Memorial Day. The contractor must provide all labor, heavy equipment including a 150-ton crane, skid steer, or dozer, and perform onsite maintenance of supplied equipment. Required services include pipeline installation, environmental and permit compliance, equipment operation, daily reporting with hourly documentation of operational metrics, and weekly infrastructure inspections. DNREC will supply HDPE pipelines, eductor flex piping, slurry and intake pumps, and variable frequency drives. The proposal evaluation will be based on qualifications and experience (20 points), project management capability (20 points), safety performance (10 points), references (10 points), potential income projection (10 points), pricing (20 points), and ACA Safe Harbor Additional Fee (10 points). A mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for November 17, 2025, at 9:00 AM in Bethany Beach, with proposal submissions due by January 12, 2026, at 1:00 PM local time, and anticipated award notification on February 1, 2026.

There are no specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises mentioned in the procurement documents. The contract term is one year with two optional one-year extensions. Contractors must furnish a bid bond equal to 10% of the proposal value and a 100% performance bond upon award. Insurance requirements include Workers' Compensation, Commercial General Liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 aggregate, Automotive Liability of $1,000,000 combined single limit, and either Medical/Professional Liability or Errors and Omissions of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 aggregate. The total estimated construction cost is $500,000.00, classified as a Heavy Construction project. Contractors must obtain Contractor Registration Certificates and comply with prevailing wage rates for Sussex County. The facility has been offline since 2021 due to an electric conversion project transitioning from diesel to electric motors, with two new WEG electric motors (400 HP and 600 HP) recently installed. Vendors must conduct background checks on employees, comply with federal and state laws, and provide monthly usage reports and quarterly subcontracting reports detailing diversity supplier participation.