1−21 The successful bidder will first receive a Notice of Tentative Award. This written communication will indicate the conditional intention of the State to award the Contract and instruct the successful bidder to arrange for the execution of the Contract Agreement and Contract Bond and for the delivery of the Certificates of Insurance, all as hereinafter provided. On Contracts jointly bid, Contractors will be held jointly and severally liable for the entire Contract. Corporate bidders must furnish documentary evidence that they have met all legal requirements to transact business in the State of Rhode Island as a condition precedent to approval of the Contract. 103.03 CANCELLATION OF AWARD . Both the Department and Division of Purchases reserve the right to cancel the award of any Cont ract before the execution thereof by all parties without any liability against the State. 103.04 RETURN OF PROPOSAL GUARANTY . The State reserves the right to retain the surety of all bidders until either the successful bi dder enters into the Contract or until such time as the award or cancellation of the Contract is announced. At this point sureties will be returned to all bidders. A Contractor will not be released from the bidding obligation because of an alleged error in the preparation of the Proposal unless the State returns the Contractor's Proposal Guaranty.
103.05 CONTRACT BOND . At the time of the execution of the Contract, the successful bidder
shall furnish a Contract Bond in a sum equal to the full amount of the Contract. The Contract Bond shall guarantee the following; complete performance of the Contract; full payment for all materials and equipment; and full payment of all wages of labor. The form of the Contract Bond shall be acceptable to both the Department and the Division of Purchases. In the event the surety fails or becomes financially insolvent, the successful bidder shall file a new Bond in the amount designated by the Department within thirty (30) days of such failures or insolvency. The Bond submitted to the Department shall be provided by a surety both acceptable to the Department and licensed and authorized to conduct business in the State of Rhode Island. All surety companies must be listed with the Department of the Treasury, Fiscal Services, Circular 570, (Latest Revision published by the Federal Register). Subsequent to award of Contract, the Department or Division of Purchases may call for additional security as required. Changes, additions, and modifications to the Contract may be made without the consent of surety. 1−22
103.06 EXECUTION AND APPROVAL OF THE CONTRACT . The Contract shall be executed
by the successful bidder, hereinafter referred to as the Contractor, in accordance with the instructions contained in the Notice of Tentative Award. At the specified time and place, the Contractor shall deliver the Contract Bond and r equired Certificates of Insurance, execute the Contract Agreement, and comply with all other stipulations set forth in said notice. Receipt by the Contractor of the executed Contract Agreement and a Purchase Order signed by the Director of the Department and/or the Purchasing Agent and the State Controller constitutes the official "Award" of the Contract. The Contract execution date may be extended by mutual agreement of the Department and the successful bidder. 103.07. FAILURE TO EXECUTE CONTRACT.
a.Failure of State to Execute Contract . If the Contract is not executed within fifteen
15.calendar days following execution of the Contract Agreement and Bond by the Contractor, said Contractor shall have the right to withdraw its Proposal without penalty.
b.Failure of the Bidder to Execute Contract . Failure of the successful bidder to execute the Contract Agreement and Contract Bond, deliver the required Certificates of Insurance; and comply with other stipulations within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of the Notice of Tentative Award shall be considered revocation of said notice and require forfeiture of the Proposal Guaranty to the State. Such forfeiture shall not be considered a penalty, but rather a liquidation of damages sustained by the State. Furthermore, the Department will not issue or receive subsequent proposals for construction work from a bidder who fails to execute a Contract until said bidder demonstrates its ability to obtain the necessary bonding and insurance coverage to the complete satisfaction of the Department. In the event a Contract is not executed with the first-designated responsible bidder, the Department may either award the Contract to the next lowest responsible bidder or reject all bids and readvertise the Project for the purpose of soliciting new Proposals. 103.08 ESCROW OF BID DOCUMENTATION . The placing in escrow of bid documentation in accordance with this Section shall be required only when specifically called for in the Notice to Contractors. Otherwise, this Section shall not apply.
a.Scope and Purpose . The purpose of this Specification is to preserve the bid documents of the Contractor for use by the parties in any claims or litigation between the Department and Contractor arising out of this Contract. The Contractor shall submit to the Department a legible copy of bid documentation used to prepare the bid for this Contract. Such documentation shall be placed in escrow with a 1−23 banking institution or other bonded document storage facility and preserved by that institution/facility as specified in the following Sections of this clause.
b.Submittal and Return of Bid Documentation . Prior to execution of the Contract, the Contractor shall submit to the Departmen t the required bid documentation in a sealed container. The container shall be clearly marked "Bid Documentation" and shall also show on the face of the container the Contractor's name and address, the date of submittal, the Project Number, the Contract Number, and Project Name.
c.Affidavit . In addition to the bid documentation, the Contractor shall submit an affidavit, signed under oath by a representative of the Contractor authorized to execute bidding proposals, listing each bid document submitted by author, date, nature, and subject matter. The affidavit shall attest that the affiant has personally examined the bid documentation, that the affidavit lists all of the documents relied upon by the Contractor in preparing its bid for this project, and that all such bid documentation is included in the submission to the Department.
d.Duration and Use . The Department and the Contractor will jointly deliver the sealed container and affidavit to a banking instit ution or other bonded document storage facility selected by the Department for placement in a safety deposit box, vault or other secure accommodation. The agreement with the document depository shall reflect that the bid documentation and affidavit shall remain in escrow during the life of the Contract or until the Contractor notifies the Department of his intention to file a claim or initiate litigation against the Department related to the Contract. Notification of the Contractor's intention to file a claim, or initiation of litigation against the Department, shall be sufficient grounds for the Department to obtain the release and custody of the bid documentation. In the absence of such action and provided that the Contractor has signed the final Standard Release Form, the Department shall instruct the document depository to release the sealed container to the Contractor. In accordance with its representation that the sealed container placed in escrow contains all of the materials relied upon by the Contractor in preparing its bid, the Contractor agrees to waive its right to use any bid documentation other than that placed in escrow in disputes arising out of this Contract.
e.Refusal or Failure to Provide Bid Documentation . Failure to provide bid documentation in accordance with the requirements of this Section shall be considered revocation of the notice of award and forfeiture of the Proposal Guaranty to the State.
f.Confidentiality of Bid Documentation . The bid documentation and affidavit in escrow are, and will remain, the property of the Contractor. The Department has no interest in, or right to, the bid documentation unless notification of the intention to file claim is received or litigation ensues between the Department and Contractor. In the event of such notification or litigation, the bid documentation and affidavit shall become the property of the Department; provided, however, that these materials, and all copies made by the Department, shall be returned to the Contractor at the conclusion of litigation, or final resolution of all outstanding claims, upon execution of a final release. Moreover, the Department shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that bid documentation to which it has gained access will remain 1−24 confidential within the Department and will not be made available to anyone outside the Department, or used by a fo rmer Department employee.
g.Cost and Escrow Instructions . The cost of the escrow will be borne by the Department. The Department will provide escr ow instructions to the document depository consistent with this clause. There will be no separate payment for compilation of the data, container or cost of verification of the bid documentation. All costs shall be included in the overall Contract bid price. SECTION 104 SCOPE OF WORK
104.01 INTENT OF CONTRACT . The intent of the Contract is to provide for the construction
and completion in every detail of the work as described. The Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, equipment, tools, transportation and supplies required to complete the work, all in accordance with the Plans, Specifications and terms of the Contract.
104.02 Changes In The Contract .
a.Right to Change . The Engineer reserves the right to make changes in the Contract at any time during the progress of the work as are necessary to satisfactorily complete the Project. Such changes shall not invalidate the Contract nor release the Surety. The Contractor agrees to perform the work as directed by the Engineer. Any costs applicable to such changes will be paid for by the execution of an appropriate Contract Modification.
b.Causes for Changes . Changes in the Contract may result from any of the following causes:
1.Differing site conditions.
2.Alterations in the Plans or Details; additions to, reductions in, or elimination of an existing item of work contained in the Proposal.
3.Extra or unforeseen work for which there is no item of work in the Proposal.
4.Suspension of the work for which delay damages are reasonable.
5.Significant changes in the character of the work.
Source: Rhode Island Standard Specifications (Bluebook), 2024 Edition. Pages 35–38 of 826.