SECTION 102 - BIDDING REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS 102.001--Advertisement. In conformity with State law, the Commission will publish a Notice to Contractors giving notice of a request for bids, this notice will become one of the contract documents if award is made. The advertisement will state the time and place for submission of seal ed proposals; the location and description of the proposed work; estimates of the quantities and kinds of work to be performed or materials to be furnished and a schedule of pay items for which contract unit prices are asked; specified c ontract time; and instructions to bidders regarding proposal forms, basis of award, proposal guaranty required, plans, specifications, labor requirements, special provisions and other pertinent information.
102.01 Prequalification of Bidders. Prospective bidders will be required to file with
the Department a list of persons authorized to bind the company in all matters. Other information may be required from time to time before issuing proposals. Bidders must familiarize themselves with all fees and taxes required for the privilege of doing business within the State of Mississippi. As a condition precedent to the ope ning of a bid, the total amount of which is equal to or in excess of $50,000.00 and financed 100% with State funds, the bidder must have a certificate of responsibility issued by the Missi ssippi State Board of Public Contractors or a similar certificate issued by another state recognizing such certificate issued by the State of Mississippi. The Bidder's Certificate of Responsibility number must be on file with the Department’s Contract Administration Division to purchase a bid proposal. When two or more persons, firms or corpora tions are submitting a joint venture, each of the persons, firms or corporations shall comply with the above prequalification requirements.
102.02 Contents of Proposal Forms. The proposal forms, designated as Section 905 of
the contract documents, will state the lo cation and description of the contemplated construction, will show estimates of the kinds and quantities of work to be performed or materials to be furnished, and will have a sche dule of items for which contract unit prices are invited. It will state the time in which the work must be completed. The proposal will also include special provisions and requirements that are not contained in the Standard Specifications or required modifications thereto. All papers bound with, attached to, submitted electronically with, or designated for addition or substitution in the proposal are considered a part thereof and must not be detached or altered when the proposal is submitted. The plans, specifications and other documents designated in the proposal shall be considered a part as if attached to and included in the proposal. The bidder will be required to pay the Department the sum stated in the Notice to Contractors for each copy of the proposal form.
102.03 Issuance of Proposal. Except as hereinafter set forth, the Department will, upon
request, furnish the bidder with a proposal. The Department reserves the right to refuse to issue a proposal to a bidder for the following reasons:
a.Lack of competency and adequate mach inery, plant, or other equipment, as revealed by the information obtained as provided in Subsection 102.01 or other determinations made by the Department.
b.Uncompleted work which, in the judgment of the Department, might hinder or prevent the prompt completion of additional work if awarded.
c.Failure to pay, or satisfactorily settle, all bills due for labor and material on former contracts in force at th e time of issuance of proposals.
d.Unsatisfactory performance on previous contracts. (e) Failure to promptly reimburse the Department for any overpayment that might have occurred.
f.Debarment of a prospective bidder or any of its corporate officers or principal owners by the Mississippi Transportation Commission.
102.04 Interpretation of Quantities in Bid Schedule. The quantities appearing in the
bid schedule are approximate only and have been prepared for the comparison of bids. The Department does not guarantee or assume any responsibility that quantities shown on the plans will not vary during actual construction of the Project, and the Contractor, hereby acknowledging this fact, shall be precluded from claiming in the construction of the Project, and the Contractor shall not claim deception or misunder standing because of variation in these quantities or variation from the location, character of the work, or any other conditions. Payment to the Contractor will be made only for the actual quantities of work performed and accepted or materials fu rnished and accepted in accordance with the Contract. The scheduled quantities of work to be done and materials to be furnished may each be increased, decreased, or omitted as hereinafter provided.
102.05 Examination of Plans, Specifications, Special Provisions, Notices to Bidders
and Site of Work. The Department intends, to the extent that the facts and circumstances permits, to prepare full, comp lete, and accurate plans and specifications giving directions that will enable any competent Contractor to carry them out. The bidder is required to examine carefully the site of the proposed work, the proposal, Plans, Standard Specifications, Special Provisions, No tices to Bidders and contract forms before submitting a proposal. The submission of a bid shall be considered prima facie evidence that the bidder has made such an examination and is satisfied as to the conditions to be encountered in performing the work and as to the requirements of the plans, Standard Specifications, Supplemental Specifications, Notices to Bidders, Special Provisions, Contract, and the Federal, State, and local laws that will in any way affect the execution of the work. All Contracts are subject to the provisions of Sections 65-1-89 and 65-1-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, annotated. Bidders may inspect records of the Department as to investigations made, subject to the conditions set forth herein. Boring logs and other records of subsurface investigations ar e available for inspection by bidders. It is understood that such information was obtained and is intended for Department design and estimating purposes only. It is made available to bidders so they may have access to identical subsurface inform ation available to the Department and is not intended as a substitute for personal investigation, interpretations and judgment of the bidders. No representations are made by the Department concerning the results of any subsurface investigation as a result of providing any such information to Bidders and the Department and the Commission shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in the boring logs or other records of subsurface investigations provided. The Department makes no guarantees regarding the character or extent of water levels, soil, rock, or other subsurface conditions the bidder may encounter during the work. The Department interpolates test data from completed borings in its reports and representations of subsurface conditions, a nd does not guarantee the accuracy of these interpolations, nor does the Department guarantee the accuracy of the test data except at the exact points where samples were taken. The Department requires bidders to make their own evaluation of subsurface conditions and to determine how these conditions may affect the methods and cost of construction. Material quality within sources naturally varies. The bidder shall immediately notify the Department of any apparent error, omission, or ambiguity in any part of the proposal. The Department will review the apparent error, omission, or ambiguity, and will issue a notice to all prospective bidders, as appropriate. If the Department becomes aware of a change in the information provided at any time during the bidding process, it will provide reasonable notice of the new information to the bidders. In order to make the most effective use of available engineering personnel, the Department is unable to assign engineering responsibilities at the time of Contract preparation; however, the District Construction Engineer will, by appointment, personally be available or may arrange for representativ e to be available to lend assistance to prospective bidders for plan-in-hand review of the proposed work features, and, if desirable, field inspection of the site of the proposed work. The Resident or Project Engineer for the Contract will be assigned as soon as the Department can reasonably make an appropriate determination.
102.06 Preparation of Proposal. MDOT will receive bids for construction projects
online using the Bid Express Service (BIDX). The Bidder’s complete proposal (Certification of Performance, Certification Regarding Non-Collusion, etc.) will be submitted to the Department electronically via the Bid Express Service no later than the day and at th e time bids are to be received. Bidders will be responsible for joining Bid Express and getting all necessary clearances and a digital ID in sufficient time for Bid Express to submit their bid. Bid Express files shall be downloaded from http://www.bidx.com. Bidders are to select Mississippi Department of Transportation under the U.S. AGENCY drop down menu and select the desired project. After completing all necessary data, the Bidders shall submit their bid to Bid Express in sufficient time for the bid to be properly sent to the Department. Bids submitted via the Bid Express Service will constitute the official bid and shall be digitally signed and delivered to the Department by the Bid Express Service. It is the responsibility of every bidder to check for any addendum or modification to the contract document(s) for which they intend to submit a response. It shall be the bidder’s responsibility to be sure th ey are in receipt of all ad denda, pre-bid conference information, and/or questions and answers provided at, or subsequent to, the pre-bid conference, if any are issued. The Commission has no responsibility for defects, irregularities or other problems caused by the use of electronic media. Operation of th is electronic media is done at the sole risk of the user. When the bid schedule contains a fixed contract unit price (FCP) for an item, this price shall be the contract unit price for the item and no alteration shall be made by the bidder. When an item in the proposal contains a choice to be made by the bidder, the bidder shall indicate the choice in accordance with the INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS in Section 905 - Proposal; reference is made to Alternate Designs, Alternate Items, and Optional Items as defined in Subsection 101.02. Where the bid schedule lists alternate designs or alternate items, the one alternate bid shall be designated by bidding only that alternate, and thereafter no further choice will be permitted. When the bid schedule lists optional items, the Contractor's selection may, but is not required to, be made at the time of bidding. For optional items not pre-selected, the Contractor's selection shall be made prior to or at the time of execution of the Contract. Each proposal issued will contain a Certification regarding debarment, suspension, and other responsibility matters to be completed by the bidder. The Certification must be sworn to and shall be under penalty of perjury and bidders are cautioned to read and understand its contents in entirety before digitally signing the bid. The Contractor shall provide immediate written notice to the Contract Administration Engineer at any time, prior to or after award, that an e-certification was erroneous when executed or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances. Failure on the part of the bidder to execute the Certification will result in the proposal being rejected. The bidder's proposal must be digitally signed 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 to bind the Contractor and accep table to the State. If the proposal is made by an individual, the individual’s name and address must be shown; by a partnership, the name and address of each partnership member must be shown; as a joint venture, the name and address 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 the business address of its corporate officials must be shown. The address stated on the proposal shall be the bidder's permanent address until changed by written notice to the Executive Director. All notices provided for in the Contract shall be considered as delivered to the Contractor when mailed or delivered to such address.
102.07 Irregular Proposals. Proposals will be considered irregular and may be
rejected for any of the following reasons:
a.If the proposal is on a form other than that furnished by the Department, or if the form is altered or any part thereof is detached, except as allowed in Subsection 102.06.
b.If there are unauthorized additions, conditional or alternate bids, or irregularities of any kind that may tend to make the proposal incomplete, indefinite, or ambiguous as to its meaning.
c.If the bidder adds any provisions reservin g the right to accept or reject an award, or to enter into a Contract pursuant to an award.
d.If the proposal does not contain a cont ract unit price and extension for each pay item, except in the case of alternate items and when the unit of measurement is lump sum.
e.If the proposal, Section 905, does not contain acknowledgement of receipt and addition to the proposal and contract documents of all addenda issued prior to opening of bids.
f.Failure to execute required affidavits , certificates, etc., and furnish proposal guaranty.
g.The Commission reserves the right, for any reason, to reject any or all proposals, to waive technicalities or irregularities, or to advertise for new proposals, and the decision of the Commission to reject any bid or proposal shall not be cause for any liability or damage against the Commission, the Department, or any of its officers or employees.
h.The Department may reject a proposal if any of the unit prices contained therein appear to be mathematically unbalanced, by reason that they are either above or below the Engineer’s estimate. A mathematically unbalanced bid generates a reasonable doubt that award to the Bidder submitting a mathematically unbalanced bid will result in the lowest ultimate cost to the Department.
102.08 Proposal Guaranty. No proposal will be considered unless accompanied by
certified check, cashier's check or bid bond, made payable to the State of Mississippi, in an amount of not less than five percent (5%) of the total amount of the proposal offered. The proposal guaranty shall be evidence of good faith that, if awarded the Contract, the bidder will execute the Contract and give pe rformance and payment contract bond(s) as stipulated in Subsection 103.05.1, 103.05.2, and as required by law. If a bid bond is offered as guaranty, the bond must be on a form approved by the Executive Director, made by a Surety accepta ble to the Executive Director and signed or countersigned by a Mississippi Agent or Qualified Nonresident Agent and the Bidder. The Mississippi agent or qualified nonresident agent shall be in good standing and licensed, at the time of submission of the bid, by the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Mississippi to represent the Surety company(ies) executing the bonds. Such bid bond shall also conform to the requirements and conditions stipulated in Subsection 103.05.2 as applicable.
102.09 Delivery of Proposals. Unless otherwise specified, each proposal shall be
submitted online using Bid Express service. Proposal Forms are non- transferable and no name or names of interested parties may be shown other than those to whom the proposal was issued. All proposals shall be submitted to Bid Express prior to the time and place specified in the Notice to Contract ors and on the Bid Express website.
102.10 Withdrawal or Revision of Proposals. A bidder may withdraw or revise a
proposal after it has been submitted to Bid Express any time prior to the time set for opening proposals.
102.11 Combination Bids. Combination bids that combine two or more individual
projects may be submitted by stating in writing on each project proposal to be considered in the combination, one of the following:
a.That the bidder is bidding on "All or None" of the work for designated proposals. The Department will evaluate all bids on these proposals and make awards based on the bids most advantageous to the State.
b.The reduction the bidder will make in the contract unit price of one or more of the items in any or all of the proposals if awarded the combination; however, the bidder will not be permitted to make a reduction in any contract unit price that may be fixed by the Department in the proposal. The Department will select from the proposals submitted the individual or combination bids most advantageous to the State.
c.That the bidder is bidding on a number of projects but desires to be awarded work not to exceed a specified total amount or a specified number of Contracts. The Department will select from the bidder’s proposal those that are most advantageous to the State within its specified amount or total number of Contracts. Combination bids that state that a lump sum shall be deducted from the final estimate, or that a reduction in prices shall be made on a pe rcentage basis, or that states that award of a Contract is contingent upon being awarded another Contract will not be accepted and the bids with which such a letter is submitted will be considered irregular and rejected.
102.12 Public Opening of Bids. All bids received in accordance with the terms of the
advertisement shall be publicly opened and announced either item by item, or by total amount, at the time and place indicated in the proposal. If any bid received is not read aloud, the name of the Bidder and the reas on for not reading the bid aloud shall be publicly announced at the letting. Bidders, their authorized agents, and other interested parties are invited to be present.
102.13 Disqualification of Bidders. Either of the following reasons may be considered
as being sufficient for the disqualification of a bidder and the rejection of the bidder’s proposal or proposals:
a.More than one proposal for the same work from an individual, partnership, firm or corporation under the same or different name(s). However, the Commission may accept proposals on construction contracts from co mmonly owned but independently managed companies, so long as each bid is not the result of collusion and is accompanied by the requ ired certificate regarding collusion.
b.Evidence of collusion among bidders. Pa rticipants in such collusion will receive no recognition as bidders for any future work of the Department until reinstated as a qualified bidder.
102.14 Material Guaranty. At the option of the Department, the successful bidder
shall be required at any time before or afte r the award or execution of the Contract to furnish a complete statement of the origin, composition and manufacture of any or all materials to be used in the construction of the work and shall provide the Department with access to all sources of materials for sa mpling and testing to determine their quality, uniformity and fitness for the work in accordance with the Contract.
102.15 Questions Regarding Bidding. All questions that arise regarding the contract documents (proposal), plans, or addendum shall be directed to the www.gomdot.com
current letting webpage. Click on the call number for the project to open an email form to submit your question. Questions must be submitted by 8:00 a.m. on the day prior to the letting. Answers to questions will be posted by 6:00 p.m. on the day prior to the letting. Answers can be viewed by clicking on Q&A link under the Proposal Addenda column. It shall be the Bidders responsibility to familiarize themselves with the questions and answers that have been submitted on a particular project. By signing the contract documents for a project, the Bidder agrees that the on-line Qu estions and Answers submitted on the project shall be added to and made part of the Contract. SECTION 103 - AWARD AND EXECUTION OF CONTRACT
103.01 Consideration of Proposals. After the proposals are op ened and read, they will
be compared on the basis of the summation of the products of the quantities shown in the bid schedule and the contract unit prices bid. The results of comparisons will be immediately available to the public. In the event of a discrepancy between any contract unit price and its extension, the contract unit price shall govern. Resident Contractors actually domiciled in Mississippi are to be granted preference over nonresidents in awarding of Contracts financed 100% with State funds as provided herein. In consideration of proposals that are equal to or in excess of $50,000 and financed 100% with State funds, a nonresident bidder domiciled in a state having laws granting preference to local Contractors will be consider ed for such contracts on the same basis as the nonresident bidder's state awards contracts to Mississippi Contractors bidding under similar circumstances. When a nonresident Cont ractor submits a bid equal to or in excess of $50,000 on a contract financed 100% with St ate funds, a copy of the current laws from the state of domicile and an e xplanation thereof pertaining to treatment of nonresident Contractors shall be attached. If no preferen tial treatment is provided for Contractors in the state of domicile and contracts are aw arded to the lowest responsible bidder, a statement to this effect shall be attached. Should the attachment not accompany the bid when submitted, the Contractor shall have 10 days following the opening of the bids to furnish the required information to the Contract Administration Engineer for attachment to the bid. As used herein, the term "resid ent Contractors" include s a nonresident person, firm or corporation that has been qualified to do business in this State and has maintained a permanent full-time office in the State of Mississippi for two years prior to January 1, 1986, and the subsidiaries and affiliates of such a person, firm or corporation.
103.02 Award of Contract. The award of a Contract will be made within 60 calendar
days after the opening of proposals to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, except as provided in Subsection 103.01 for preferential treatment situations, whose proposal complies with all the requiremen ts prescribed. The award of Contracts involving the expenditure of Federal funds is contingent upon concurrence of the Federal
Source: Mississippi Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, 2017 Edition. Pages 28–33 of 1,113.