Yelm Loop Oak and Gopher Mitigation

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Olympic Region is requesting bids for oak and gopher habitat mitigation on SR 510 (MP 13.61 to 13.98) and I-5 (MP 91.52 to 91.75) in Thurston County under Contract No. 25C510, with bids due September 30, 2026 at 11:00:59 a.m. Pacific Time.

The scope encompasses establishing, enhancing, and preserving approximately 1.71 acres of Oregon White Oak Woodland habitat across two mitigation sites and maintaining prairie habitat for the Yelm Pocket Gopher species. Work includes clearing and grubbing, selective vegetation removal with herbicide application, soil decompaction, biotic soil amendment installation, culvert installation, erosion and sediment control, roadside restoration with native seed establishment, and five years of monitoring. The contractor must commence work on or before December 1, 2026, and complete the project within 85 working days, with liquidated damages of $1,000 per working day assessed for non-completion.

The contractor must secure a Right of Way Permit from Thurston County before performing work within county right-of-way and is responsible for all associated permit costs. Commercial General Liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence is required. All project documentation must be submitted electronically through the WSDOT Unifier system; contractor personnel must submit a Unifier Access Request Form within five days of contract award. The contractor must participate in a Project Partnering workshop, with WSDOT reimbursing 50 percent of facilitator, facility, and materials costs. Subcontractors and lower-tier subcontractors must have payments reported through WSDOT's Diversity Management and Compliance System, with reporting required by the 20th of each month. Coordination is required with concurrent projects including SR 507/Vail Road SE Intersection Compact Roundabout, SR 510 Spur/Yelm Loop ITS/Fiber/VMS, SR 507/Bald Hills Road and Morris Road Roundabout, City of Yelm Rhoton Road NW Reconstruction, and SR 510/Yelm Loop New Alignment Phase 2. The project is governed by the 2026 Standard Specifications for Road, Bridge, and Municipal Construction and includes nondiscrimination compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.