Square Steel Posts, Anchors, and Fasteners for Traffic Signs

The City of Austin, Texas is seeking bids to establish a replacement contract for the purchase of square steel posts, anchors, and fasteners for traffic sign support systems under Invitation for Bid (IFB) 6200 TJP1026. The procurement encompasses 42 line items including 1" x 1" square steel posts in lengths of 10 to 36 feet, 2" x 2" anchors, reflective post sleeves, soil stabilizer anchors, couplers, cast iron bases, fasteners (rivets, bolts, nuts, washers, and banding), sign hangers, and installation tools such as rivet tools, punches, drilling units, and strapping tools with estimated annual quantities ranging from 3 to 60,000 units depending on the item. All materials must comply with FHWA breakaway requirements, ASTM A570 Grade 50 specifications for steel, and ASTM A653 des G90 hot-dipped galvanized coating standards, with delivery required within 15 calendar days of order placement on a FOB destination, prepaid basis to the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department. Contractors must demonstrate three years of continuous experience providing similar products, maintain no performance deficiencies under City contracts within the past three years, and provide at least three verifiable references demonstrating positive past performance. The City will evaluate bids using best-value criteria and may award a single contract based on overall low cost or multiple awards based on individual items, categories, or any combination deemed advantageous. Questions are due by February 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM CT, with sealed offers due on February 17, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT and opening at 3:00 PM CT. The contract will have an initial term of 36 months with two optional 12-month renewal periods at the City's sole discretion.

No minority or women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) subcontracting goals apply to this solicitation due to insufficient subcontracting opportunities and insufficient availability of M/WBE certified firms; however, contractors using subcontractors must comply with all M/WBE Program requirements and obtain City approval prior to subcontractor engagement. The solicitation offers optional local business and small business preference programs, with local business preference available to entities headquartered within the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area (Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties) and small business preference available to entities holding recognized U.S. Small Business Administration-compliant certifications. Offerors must comply with extensive certification requirements including debarment status verification, collusion and conflict of interest certifications, Texas Local Government Code officer relationship and gift compliance, boycott prohibitions related to Israel and specified countries, ERCOT critical infrastructure protections, firearm entity non-discrimination, energy company non-boycott provisions, Austin City Code wage theft compliance, and LGBTQ+ conversion therapy prohibitions. Contractors will receive a 5 percent discount on bids up to $500,000 or a 3 percent discount on bids between $500,000 and $50 million if they qualify for local and small business preferences. Pricing is fixed and unit-price based, remaining firm for the first 12 months with potential adjustments thereafter not exceeding the percentage change in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics index for iron and steel pipe and tube manufacturing, capped at 25 percent per line item. No incumbent vendor or current contractor information is specified in the solicitation materials.