101DEFINITION OF TERMS

Substructure. All of the part of the structure below the bearings of simple and continuous spans, skewbacks of arches and tops of footings of rigid frames; including backwalls, wingwalls, and wing protection railings.

Superintendent. The Contractor's authorized representative in responsible charge of the work.

Superstructure. All that part of a structure above, and including, the bearings of simple and continuous spans, skewbacks of arches and top of footings of rigid frames; excluding backwalls, wingwalls, and wing protection railings.

Supplemental Agreement. A written agreement with the Contractor covering changes in the plans, specifications, or quantities or any combination thereof, within the scope of the contract and establishing the basis of payment and time adjustments for the work affected by the changes.

Surety. The corporation, partnership or individual other than the Contractor executing a bond furnished by the Contractor, licensed under the laws of Alabama.

Surface. One or more layers of a material designed to accommodate the traffic load, the top layer of which resists skidding, traffic abrasion and the disintegrating effects of climate. The top layer is generally called the wearing layer and the lower layer the binder layer.

Surface Treatment. One or more applications of bituminous material and cover aggregate or thin plant mix on an old pavement or any element of a new pavement structure.

Tack Coat. An application of bituminous material to an existing surface to provide bond with a superimposed course.

Temporary Structure . Any structure required to maintain traffic during construction of the work, which will be dismantled if required when the work is completed.

Through Highway. Every highway or portion thereof on which vehicular traffic is given preferential right of way, and at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to yield right of way to vehicles on such through highway in obedience to either a stop sign or a yield sign, when such signs are erected.

Through Street. Every street or portion thereof on which vehicular traffic is given preferential right of way, and at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting streets is required by law to yield right of way to vehicles on such through highway in obedience to either a stop sign or a yield sign, when such signs are erected.

Tie Bar. A deformed steel bar or connector imbedded in the concrete across a joint to prevent separation of abutting slabs.

Traffic Lane. The portion of a traveled way for movement of a single line of vehicles.

Transportation Director. See "Director".

Traveled Way. The portion of the roadway for the movement of vehicles, exclusive of shoulders and auxiliary lanes.

Typical Section. That cross section established by the plans which represents in general the lines to which the Contractor shall work in the execution of his contract.

Work (The Work). Work shall mean the furnishing of all labor, materials, equipment, and other incidentals necessary or convenient to the successful completion of the project and the carrying out of all duties and obligations imposed by the contract. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

Work Performed. The dollar amount of work that has been completed at a point in time when progress payments (monthly estimate payments) will be made. Work Performed is the payment for the designated physical construction work that has been completed and accepted for payment. Work Performed will not include the following:

Payments for extra work done on a Force Account basis Payments that were, or will be based on the progress and quality of the construction Payments that were, or will be made for material price adjustments, fuels, and stored or unused materials Working Day (Daytime Work). Any Calendar Day from midnight to midnight, exclusive of Saturdays and Legal Holidays (as defined herein), on which the Contractor could proceed with construction operations for a period of six hours or more with the normal working forces engaged in performing work on the controlling item or items of work, which normally would be in progress at that time, will be classified as a working day. Saturdays and Legal Holidays on which the Contractor elects to work for a period of four hours or more will be classified as a working day.

Working Day (Nighttime Work). (Where nighttime work is required or allowed by the Engineer.) Any 24-hour period from noon to noon, on which the Contractor could proceed with night-time construction operations for a period of six hours or more with the normal working forces engaged in performing work on the controlling item or items of work, which normally would be in progress at that time, will be classified as a working day. Saturdays and Legal Holidays on which the Contractor elects to work for a period of four hours or more will be classified as a working day.

Working Drawings. Erection plans, falsework plans, framework plans, cofferdam plans, or any other supplementary plans or similar data which the Contractor is required to submit to the Engineer.

Compensation shall be included in other items of work (other pay items) for work where it is shown that "no direct payment" will be made for the work, or that the work shall be done "without extra compensation", or the work shall be a "subsidiary obligation" of other items of work.

Wherever the terms "contemplated", or "required", "directed", "authorized", "considered necessary", "permitted", "approved". "suitable", "unacceptable", "designated", or terms of like import are used in these Specifications, they shall be construed to mean "to" or "by the Engineer" or "Director", unless the contract or context clearly indicates otherwise. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

102.01Notice to Contractors (Advertisement)

Bids will be invited in a "Notice to Contractors" advertisement. The advertisement will contain the date, time, and place of opening bids; a description of the work; contract time; a stipulation as to the character and the amount of the proposal guaranty; and instructions to the bidders for obtaining access to plans and specifications.

The quantities shown in the "Notice to Contractors" are to be considered as approximate only and may be amended in the proposal to include additional quantities or additional items, or to decrease quantities or to exclude items of work before bids are to be received. This listing of quantities and pay items is to advise prospective bidders informally as to the type of work and approximate quantities involved. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

102.02Qualification of Bidders

Proposal forms will be issued only to prospective bidders who have qualified with the Department and have a valid certification of qualification as required by State law. All applicants for qualification shall submit, under Oath, a complete confidential statement, equipment questionnaire, and experience questionnaire on forms that will be furnished by the Department upon request. To ensure sufficient time for consideration, the applicant shall properly complete and submit the forms at least 14 calendar days prior to the date of opening bids on which the applicant desires to submit proposals. Forms received at a later date will be considered whenever practicable. If the applicant is a corporation organized in a State other than Alabama, it shall furnish a certificate from the Secretary of State showing that it is qualified to transact business in Alabama. A bid for a 100 % State funded project will not be accepted from a corporation organized in another State if the bidder does not submit a valid Certificate of Existence issued by the Alabama Secretary of State. A bid will be accepted from a corporation organized in another State for a federally funded project but award of the contract is contingent upon receipt of the Certificate of Existence from the Alabama Secretary of State. A prospective bidder will not be prequalified who has a corporate officer, director, or principal owner who is a corporate officer, director, or owner of another person which is presently disqualified by the Department. A prospective bidder will also not be prequalified who is an affiliate of a person that is presently disqualified by the Department. For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:

a joint stock company, a trust, or any unincorporated organization.

voting securities of a person or if the person is not a corporation, an ownership interest, directly or indirectly of 10 % or more of the person.

The Department reserves the right to disqualify or refuse to issue a proposal to a prospective bidder for the following reasons:

required financial statement and experience questionnaires.

prompt completion of additional work if awarded.

force at the time of issuance of proposals.

violating the competitive bid process, or if any partner, association member, corporate official or individual owner, respectively, of any bidder submitting a bid has been convicted or entered a guilty plea in any legal jurisdiction of the United States or any of the various States, of Federal or State crimes that involve the restraint of trade or limiting competition in any manner.

or any partner, association member, corporate official or individual owner of the bidder.

successive 24-month period. DBE violations apply on a companywide basis and not for a particular project.

to perform at least 30 % of the work.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

given in these specifications, notwithstanding acceptance of the project or maintenance thereof. Disqualification for reasons 1 through 6, 8 and 9 will be for an indefinite period of time. The status of disqualification will be reviewed if requested in writing by the disqualified firm. Any subsequent review of the status of disqualification will not be done until six months after the preceding review. Disqualification for reason 7 will be for an indefinite period of time, with a minimum time of disqualification equal to the period of time of suspension or debarment by the Federal Highway Administration. After the minimum time of disqualification has passed, the status of disqualification will be reviewed if requested in writing by the disqualified firm. Any subsequent review of the status of disqualification will not be done until six months after the preceding review. Disqualification for reason 10 will be removed immediately upon receipt of proof that the progress of the work is acceptable or that the project has been completed. Disqualification for reason 11 will remain in effect until the prospective bidder causing the disqualification of the affiliate has been requalified. Disqualification for reason 12 will remain in effect until the Contractor and Surety provide documentation to the satisfaction of the ALDOT that the Contractor's solvency has been restored. Disqualification for reason 13 will be removed immediately upon receipt of satisfactory payment from the Contractor. Disqualification applies to bidding as a prime contractor or performing work in any role or capacity on an ALDOT project.

If a prospective bidder is disqualified from bidding for reasons 1 through 7, 9 and 12 given in Subarticle 102.02(b), it will be required to again prequalify under the provisions of Subarticle 102.02(a) above. When requalified, the qualification will be issued subject to continued examination and evaluation of the Contractor's performance. The Contractor will be in probationary status for a period of one year following the requalification. If, during the period of probation, the Contractor is disqualified under any of the provisions of these Specifications, the Department may suspend the Contractor's right to requalify for a minimum period of one year.

102.03Contents of Proposal Form

The Department will furnish bidders a blank proposal form showing the location and description of the work contemplated, the approximate estimate of the various quantities of the pay items of the work to be performed and materials to be furnished, and the amount of the proposal guaranty. The proposal form may also contain "Special Provisions" and requirements that vary from, or are not included in, the Alabama Department of Transportation Standard Specifications. All papers bound with or attached to the proposal form are a necessary part thereof and must not be detached or altered. The plans, specifications, and other documents designated in the proposal form shall be a part of the proposal whether attached or not. The prospective bidder shall pay the Department the fee set for each copy of the proposal form and each set of plans.

Corrections and minor changes in the proposal form or plans may be put into effect by facsimile, certified letter, express type mail, or other computer media from the Office Engineer Bureau, notifying all prospective bidders to whom proposal forms have been previously issued.

102.04Interpretation of Quantities in Bid Schedule

The quantities appearing in the bid schedule are approximate only and are prepared for the comparison of bids. Payment to the Contractor will be made only for the actual quantities of work performed and accepted, or materials furnished, in accordance with the contract. The scheduled quantities or work to be done and materials to be furnished may each be increased, decreased, or omitted as provided herein.

102.05Examination of Plans, Specifications, Special Provisions, and Site of Work

The bidder is expected to carefully examine the site of the proposed work, the general and local conditions, and the requirements of the contract documents before submitting a proposal. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

If boring logs, foundation reports, and other records of subsurface investigations were obtained by the State, this information is intended for State design and estimating purposes only. However, it is made available to bidders upon request so that they may have access to the identical subsurface information available to the State. The bidder shall examine this information and make their own interpretation as to the nature and extent of material to be excavated, graded, bored, or driven through. The Department does not guarantee the amount or nature of the material which may be encountered. This information shall not be a substitute for personal investigation, interpretations and judgment of the bidders. The submittal of a proposal shall be an acknowledgment that the bidder has made these examinations as required by this Article. Adjustments or compensation will not be allowed for losses caused by failure to comply with this requirement. The State disclaims responsibility and liability for any opinions, conclusions, interpretations, or deductions that may be expressed or implied in any of the information presented or made available to bidders. The bidder shall be fully responsible for interpretations and conclusions made from all available information.

102.06Preparation of Proposal

The bidder's proposal must be submitted by either one of the following procedures:

computer file furnished by the Department, and a bidder furnished digital storage media containing the computer file downloaded from the Department’s website with the bidder’s prices or;

submittal of the bid through the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider. Proposal forms are numbered serially and are not transferable. Unless otherwise provided in the proposal, joint venturers may submit a proposal for a joint venture of qualified bidders on a proposal form issued to one of them, provided each venturer has taken out a proposal and provided the proposal is signed by each co-venturer. If the joint venturer chooses to submit a bid utilizing the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider the joint venturer must request and receive approval for the joint venture. The joint venturer will be assigned a contractor identification number prior to the submittal of a bid.

All bids shall be submitted using a computer bid system prescribed by the Department, via either bidder furnished digital storage media (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or USB flash drive), or the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider. Bids submitted using any other form, format, or means will be rejected. The digital storage media used to submit the bid shall become the property of the State of Alabama. Where alternate designs are provided by the plans and proposal, the bidder shall enter prices only on the items for the design alternate that will be most economical for the bidder to construct, and other bid items that will be common for all alternates. If any item on the proposal form permits a choice between alternate specified types of materials, the bidder shall indicate by a check mark the type of material the bidder proposes to use. If more than one type or none is checked, the Department will make the selection. Any interlineation, erasure, or other alteration of a figure shall be initialed by the signer of the proposal. The Department will check the extension of each item given in the proposal and correct all errors and discrepancies. In case of a discrepancy between a unit bid price and the extension amount, the unit price shall govern. The sum of the extension amounts will be the contract bid price. A pay item may be shown with a maximum allowable amount for the bid. The bidder shall enter an amount for the bid that is equal to or less than the maximum allowable amount. If the bid entered is greater than the maximum allowable amount the Department will adjust the bid price to the maximum allowable amount for that item and recalculate the total bid amount. A pay item may be shown with a minimum required amount for the bid. The bidder shall enter an amount for the bid that is equal to or greater than the minimum required amount. If the bid entered is less than the minimum required amount the Department will adjust the bid price to the minimum required amount for that item and recalculate the total bid amount. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

The bidder's proposal must be signed with ink by the individual, by one or more members of the partnership, by one or more members or officers of each firm representing a joint venture, or by one or more officers of a corporation, or by an agent of the Contractor legally qualified and acceptable to the State. If the proposal is made by an individual, the individual’s name must be shown; by a partnership, the name of each partnership member must be shown; as a joint venture, the name of each member or officer of the firms represented by the joint venture must be shown; by a corporation, the name of the corporation and of its corporate officials must be shown. Each bidder submitting a bid utilizing the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider agrees that its digital signature constitutes an original signature. The proposal bid bond, if bid bond is tendered, shall be properly signed by the bidder and the surety.

Bidders will be required to execute a collusion affidavit conforming to the requirements of the laws and regulations cited in Article 107.05. If prior to the award the low bidder fails to execute the collusion affidavit the bid will be rejected and the bid bond will be forfeited. If there is any reason for believing that collusion exists among the bidders, any or all proposals may be rejected, and those participating in such collusion may be barred from submitting bids on the same or other work with the Department until they have been reinstated as a qualified bidder. Only the affidavit form provided in the proposal will be acceptable.

The bidder shall use a bidding software program prescribed by the Department. It is the bidder's responsibility to gain access to computer equipment that will run the prescribed software program. The bidder may choose to download the computer file and any addenda from the Department’s website or the bidder may choose to utilize the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider to access the computer file and addenda. If the bidder chooses to download the computer file from the Department’s website and submit the bid using a digital storage medium, then the software program prescribed by the Department shall be used to prepare the bid and to print the official bid item sheets for submittal with the proposal form. If the bidder chooses to utilize internet bidding, the computer file is available at the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider’s website. The only entries permitted into the computer program when preparing the bid will be the unit or lump sum prices for items bid. The program will perform all extensions of the unit or lump sum prices, calculate the total bid, and print a complete set of bid item sheets including the total bid price and bid item signature sheet. Each bid item sheet will contain a check identification "ID" located in the bottom right corner of each bid item sheet corresponding to the check ID in the computer bid file. Bid item sheets generated from the computer program shall be printed on 8.5 x 11 inch {216 mm x 279 mm} paper. This set of bid item sheets, generated from the software program prescribed by the Department, along with a complete proposal package, will constitute the official bid. The computer-generated bid item signature sheet and proposal shall be properly signed and delivered to the Department in accordance with Article 102.06(c), Signing, and Article 102.10, Delivery of Proposals. Only bid item sheets printed from a software program prescribed by the Department will be accepted for the official bid. Failure to use and submit these bid item sheets will result in the bid being rejected. Bidders who choose to utilize internet bidding shall submit the bid as a computer file, including a digital signature, through the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider. All provisions of Subarticles (a) through (d) of this Article will apply to the preparation of bids that are submitted on computer program generated bid item sheets. Any necessary changes to entries on the computer program generated bid item sheets shall be made in accordance with Subarticle (b) of this Article. A digital storage medium containing the computer file downloaded from the Department’s website with the bidder’s prices shall be submitted with the proposal unless the bidder chooses to use the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider in which case the submittal of a digital storage medium is not required. In case of a discrepancy between the unit or lump sum prices submitted on the program printed bid item sheets and those contained in the computer file returned to the Department, the unit or lump sum prices submitted on the program printed bid item sheets shall prevail in all cases. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

Failure to submit a properly signed bid item signature sheet shall result in the bid being rejected. Failure to submit a bid item sheet(s), other than the bid item signature sheet, will result in the bid being considered irregular in accordance with Article 102.07(a). In the event a bid item sheet is missing from the proposal, the Department may replace this sheet with a copy produced from the computer file submitted with the proposal. The Department is not responsible for delay in completion of, or failure to timely submit, a bid due to an alleged website failure or failure of any service associated with the Department’s approved Internet Bidding Service Provider.

102.07Irregular Proposals

Proposals will be considered irregular and may be rejected if they contain any omissions, alteration of form, additions not called for, incomplete bids (includes failure to enter a unit bid price on a bid item or, in the case of an alternate, the alternate being bid by the Contractor), interlineations, erasures or alterations not initialed by the person signing the proposal, inconsistent proposal control numbers on each computer bid item sheet and signature sheet, or other irregularities of any kind. Proposals may be rejected at any time prior to the execution of the contract by the Director. Any bidder using the same or different names for submitting more than one proposal upon any project will be disqualified from further consideration on that project. Evidence that any bidder is interested, as a principal, in more than one proposal for work contemplated (for example bidding in a partnership, as a joint partnership or association, and as a partnership, association, or individuals) will cause the rejection of any such proposal. A bidder, however, may submit a proposal as principal and as a Subcontractor to some other principal, or may submit a proposal as a Subcontractor to as many other principals as he desires, and by so doing will not be liable to disqualification in the intent of these Specifications.

In order that no party of the contract will be financially hurt over changes in the estimated quantities, a proposal may be rejected if any of the unit prices are obviously unbalanced. The Department will decide whether any unit prices are unbalanced either excessively above or below a reasonable cost analysis value determined by the Engineer, particularly if these unbalanced amounts are substantial and contrary to the interest of the Department.

102.08Combination Bids

A bid will be considered as a "combination bid" for two or more projects if the bidder notifies the Department in writing of the intent to submit a combination bid. The bidder shall submit a written statement that the bid will be either an "All or None" Combination Bid, a "Reduction in Unit Price" Combination Bid, a "Total Dollar Amount" Combination Bid or a "Total Number of Contracts" Combination Bid.

The bidder shall clearly designate the proposals that are being combined in a bid that is being submitted as an "All or None" combination bid. The Department will evaluate all bids on these proposals and make awards based on the bids that are most advantageous to the State.

The bidder shall clearly designate the proposals that are being combined in a bid that is being submitted as a "Reduction in Unit Price" combination bid. The bidder shall clearly stipulate the reduction that will be made in the unit price of one or more of the items in any or all of the proposals if awarded the combination. The bidder will not be permitted to make a reduction in any unit price that is fixed by the Department. The Department will select the individual or combination bids that are most advantageous to the State.

The bidder shall clearly designate the proposals that are being combined in a bid that is being submitted as the "Total Dollar Amount" combination bid. A bidder shall clearly stipulate that the bid is for designated projects but requests to be awarded work that will not exceed the designated total dollar amount. The Department will select the proposals that are most advantageous to the Department within the designated total dollar amount.