Southwest 96-inch Water Transmission Pipeline Project

The City of Dallas Water Utilities, in partnership with the Cities of Duncanville and Cedar Hill, is issuing a Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals (Contract No. 26-003) for the Southwest 96-Inch Water Transmission Pipeline Project located in Dallas County, Texas. This capital improvement project procures construction services for installation of approximately 14,300 linear feet of 96-inch steel water pipe, 570 linear feet of 78-inch steel water pipe, and 30 linear feet of 54-inch prestressed concrete cylinder water pipe using combined open cut and tunneling methods, along with cathodic protection systems, electrical infrastructure, instrumentation and controls for electrically actuated valves, and site and paving restoration. The project scope spans approximately 32 miles west of US Highway 67, connecting Summit Ground Storage Tank to US Highway 67 across multiple jurisdictions. Qualified contractors must demonstrate a minimum of five similar projects installing carrier pipe 72 inches or greater in diameter completed within the past ten years, with documented experience managing comparable complexity work involving tunneling through varied ground conditions using hand mining, tunnel boring machines, microtunneling, and pipe jacking methods. The evaluation criteria allocate 100 points across five categories: Proposed Contract Price (40 points), Project Approach and Schedule (20 points), Experience/Past Performance and Safety Records (10 points), Experience and Qualifications of Key Personnel (10 points), and Dallas Regional Inclusive Vendor Enterprise (DRIVE) Policy Compliance (20 points). Non-mandatory pre-bid conferences are scheduled for March 25 and April 8, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at 2121 Main, Suite 400, Dallas, Texas, with site visits following each conference. All proposals must be submitted electronically through the Bonfire platform (https://dallascityhall.bonfirehub.com/) as PDF files by May 8, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., with public opening at 2:00 p.m. the same day. Substantial completion is required within 790 calendar days from the Notice to Proceed, with final completion within 90 additional calendar days. Plans, specifications, and bid proposal spreadsheets became available on March 13, 2026. Project Manager Tracey Long, PE (214-948-4540, tracey.long@dallas.gov) oversees this procurement.

The procurement includes significant small business enterprise participation requirements under the City's DRIVE Policy, which establishes aspirational SBE participation benchmarks of 33 percent for goods and construction services. Bidders must document their Small Business Enterprise utilization plans, demonstrating good faith efforts to meet contract-specific SBE goals through documented outreach, work segmentation, and subcontractor engagement, with up to 20 evaluation preference points available for SBE participation exceeding established goals, local economic impact, and engagement history. The project is subject to United States Iron and Steel requirements per Texas Water Code Section 17.183 and requires submission of a bid guarantee equal to 5 percent of the proposed contract price. Performance and payment bonds equal to 100 percent of the contract price are mandatory, along with comprehensive insurance coverage and a Cement Preference Certification for Portland cement products meeting stricter nitrogen oxide emission standards than state minimums. All workers must receive either Davis-Bacon wage rates or the City's living wage of $23.06 per hour, whichever is higher. Liquidated damages of $1,000 per calendar day apply for milestone delays. Contract award is anticipated for September 9, 2026, with Notice to Proceed scheduled for January 2027. The project is contingent upon release of funds from the Texas Water Development Board through a State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) loan, and bidders must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, ordinances, and regulations, including the City's Environmental Management System based on ISO Standard 14001.