16or other characteristics defined by the Engineer or the Contract Documents as unsuitable for the use intended. Utilities . Private, county, city, municipal or public facility, structure, or infrastructure, designed, owned and maintained for public use or to provide a public service such as electricity, water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, drainage culverts, telecommunications, conduits, gas, oil, fiber optics, cable television, that is not identified as a Pavement Structure, Roadway, Highway, Street or Traveled Way. –V– V ouchered . The action of approval by the Department; constitutes the date of release to the State Comp - troller for payment. –W–X–Y -Z– Wearing course . (See Surface course ) The top and final layer of any pavement. Work . The furnishing of all materials, labor, tools, equipment, and incidentals necessary or convenient for the successful completion of the project and the carrying out of the duties and obligations specified in the Contract. Working drawings . Stress sheets, shop drawings, erection plans, falsework plans, framework plans, cofferdam plans, bending diagrams for reinforcing steel, or any other supplementary plans or similar data the Contractor is required to submit to the Engineer for review. SECTION 102— BIDDING REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS
102.01 Prequalification of Bidders
a.All prospective bidders, including all members of a joint venture, shall be prequalified with the Department and shall have received a certification of qualification in accordance with the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges prior to bidding. This requirement may be waived by a project-specific provision in the Proposal. The Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges may be found on the Department’ s website at www.virginiadot.org/business/const/prequal.asp. All subcontractors shall be prequalified prior to performing any work on the Contract, except that prequalification will not be required for subcontractors when all of the pay items on which they are working fit one of the following descriptions: items denoted in the Proposal as “Specialty Items;” items that the Contract Engineer declares during the Advertisement period to be Specialty Items; or an item that is otherwise indicated in the Proposal as having a waiver of prequalification. In order to be eligible for SWaM or DBE credit, SWaM or DBE subcontractors must be VDOT prequalified and SWaM or DBE certified at the time of bid submission. When an individual is prequalified to bid jointly only with a specific company, the joint venture will be considered a unified entity for qualification purposes.
b.Prequalified bidders shall be subject to disqualification and removal from the Department’ s List of Prequalified Vendors in accordance with Section 102.08, the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges, and other applicable laws.101.02 17102.04
102.02 Content of Proposal
a.Standard Proposal - The Proposal will specify the location of the proposed Work, include all of the following, and will be considered part of the bid. • a description of the Work, including an estimate of the various quantities and kinds of work to be performed or materials to be furnished, and a schedule of items for which unit bid prices are invited. • the Contract time in which the Work shall be completed, and the date and time by which bids must be submitted. • any Specifications, plans, attachments, revisions, addenda, and any other documents specified or referenced in the Proposal.
b.Combination or Conditional Proposals - If the Department so elects, Proposals may be issued for projects in combination or separately. Bids may be submitted for either the combination or separate units of the combination. The Department may make awards on combination bids or separate bids to its best advantage. Combination bids other than those set up in the Proposals by the Department will not be considered. Conditional bids will be considered only when so stated in the Proposal.
102.03 Interpretation of Quantities in Proposal
The quantities of work to be performed and materials to be furnished identified in the Proposal are approximate only, and provided as a basis for cost analysis and comparison. The Contractor will be paid for the quantities of work accepted and materials furnished and correctly placed or installed according to the Contract. The quantities of work to be performed and materials to be furnished may vary, be increased, diminished, or eliminated, as provided within the Contract without invalidating the Contract. A variance, increase, decrease, or elimination of the quantities in the Proposal will not be sufficient grounds for granting an increase in the bid price, except as specified for a significant change in Section
104.02 Costs for items determined by the Contractor to be necessary for completion of the job for which
no pay item is listed in the Proposal shall be included in the prices for other pay items. The Contractor will be paid according to Section 109 and other applicable Contract provisions.
102.04 Examination of Site of Work and Proposal
a.Evidence of Examination of Site of Work and Proposal The submission of a bid will be considered conclusive evidence that the bidder has (1) conducted a reasonable examination of the site of the proposed Work, the Proposal and other documents referenced therein, and the plans before submitting a bid, (2) is satisfied as to the nature, character, qualities, quantities, and conditions to be encountered in performing the Work and the require - ments specified in the Proposal, and (3) has taken such matters into consideration when submitting the bid. A reasonable site investigation may include investigating the project site, borrow sites, disposal areas, and hauling routes related to the performance of the Work.
b.Subsurface Data Subsurface data may be included in the Proposal or may be made available for review by the bidder in the office of the District Materials Engineer or State Materials Engineer. Data not included in the 18Proposal are not part of the Contract, but are made available to the bidder in good faith to notify the bidder of information in possession of the Department. The Department does not warrant any data not included in the Proposal or Contract, or any conclusions drawn from such data, either expressly or by implication. The bidder shall make his own interpretation of the subsurface data that may be available and satisfy himself with regard to the nature, condition, and extent of the material to be excavated, graded, or driven through. The submission of a bid will be considered conclusive evidence that the bidder is satisfied with regard to the subsurface conditions to be encountered in the work and has taken such conditions into consideration when submitting the bid.
c.Notice of Alleged Ambiguities, Conflicts, Errors or Omissions If a bidder has any questions or doubts about a word, phrase, clause, specification, or any other portion of the Proposal or alleges an ambiguity, conflict, error, or omission, the bidder shall submit a question about the ambiguity, conflict, error, or omission not later than 10 days prior to the due date of receipt of bids and request an interpretation thereof on the CABB (Contractor Advertisement Bulletin Board) website at http://cabb.virginiadot.org. Authorized interpretations will be issued by the State Construction Contract Engineer to each person who received a Proposal, and will be posted on the CABB system. The Department will not be responsible for any other explanations or interpretations of the alleged ambiguities, conflicts, errors or omissions. The bidder shall not take advantage of obvious or apparent ambiguities, conflicts, errors, or omis - sions in the Proposal. If the bidder fails to submit a question on the CABB and request an interpre - tation of an obvious or apparent ambiguity, conflict, error, or omission within the specified time, the bidder shall waive any right it may have had to its own interpretation of the ambiguity, conflict, error, or omission. Further, if awarded the Contract the bidder waives any claims and shall not be entitled to any additional compensation or time, or entitled to sue the Department based on such obvious or apparent ambiguity, conflict, error, or omission. It is recognized that the bidder’ s review of the Proposal is made in the bidder’ s capacity as a contractor and not as a licensed design professional unless otherwise specifically provided in the Contract. The bidder is not required to ascertain that the Contract is in accordance with applicable laws, statutes, ordinances, building codes, and rules and regulations, but any nonconformity discovered by or made known to the bidder shall be reported promptly to the State Construction Contract Engineer.
d.Utilities In general, the bid proposal will indicate the various utility items known to exist, will indicate items to be adjusted or improvements proposed by the respective owners and will designate any items that are to be adjusted by the Contractor. Information contained in the bid proposal regarding utility locations is advisory only and shall not be construed as being a representation of completeness or accuracy. The bidder shall contact the owners of the various utilities to determine the exact location of the utilities and the owner’ s schedule of work. Unless otherwise noted, all utility adjustments will be performed by the Utility or its representative. The Contractor shall cooperate with the owners of any utilities in their adjustment operations. Prior to preparing a bid, the bidder shall contact known utility owners to determine the nature, extent, and location of existing, adjusted, or proposed new utility facilities within the areas of construction. It is understood and agreed that the Contractor
1.has considered in his bid all of the permanent and temporary utility appurtenances in their present and relocated positions and, any proposed utility capital improvements, and (2) the Contrac - tor has contacted the utility owner with regard to the Contractor’ s proposed schedule of work. The Contractor shall include in his proposed schedule the amount of time to make utility adjustments, from time estimates furnished by the utility owners. Any costs associated with contacting, and 102.04 19102.05 coordinating with the utilities shall be reflected in the bid price for other items in the Contract. In the event the utility owners are non-responsive to the Contractor’ s efforts to contact them, the Contractor shall notify the Department prior to submitting a bid, as required in Section 102.03(c).
102.05 Preparation of Bid
a.General The bidder shall submit its bid by approved electronic media, unless otherwise provided for in the Proposal. The bidder shall furnish a unit or lump sum price as called for in the Proposal, in numerical figures, for each pay item listed. The bidder shall also show the products of the unit prices and quan - tities in numerical figures in the column provided for that purpose and the total amount of the bid. If a unit or lump sum price is omitted, the bid will be rejected. If there is a discrepancy between the unit price and its extension, the unit price will govern. In the event there is a discrepancy between the bidder’ s electronically generated Proposal form and the official Proposal form as furnished by the Department, the official Proposal form will govern. Bids will be considered irregular and may be rejected for any of the reasons stated in Section 102.06. The bidder shall submit a proposal guaranty in accordance with Section 102.07. A bid will be rejected and the bidder disqualified for any of the reasons stated in Section 102.08. All bidders shall return Form No. C-48 listing all subcontractors/suppliers that were solicited to supply quotes for work on this project within 10 calendar days after the date designated in the proposal for the opening of bids. This form shall show the VDOT vendor identification number (if applicable), legal names of subcontractors, suppliers, and vendors, whether SWaM or DBE, and utilization or non-utilization for work on this project.
b.Design Options Except as otherwise specified in the Proposal, when regular and alternate design options are shown in the Proposal, the bidder shall submit a bid price for at least one design option. The Department may award the Contract to the responsive and responsible bidder who submitted the lowest bid for the regular design option or the lowest bid for the alternate design option, whichever is deemed to be in the best interest of the Commonwealth.
c.Debarred Suppliers The bidder is cautioned against utilizing price quotes for materials for use in the preparation of bids from suppliers or vendors that are debarred by the Department. The Engineer will not approve for use any material furnished by a supplier debarred by the Department. The bidder shall ascertain from the Department’ s listings which suppliers are debarred. Lists of approved suppliers can be found on the Department’ s Materials Division web site at www.virginiadot.org/business/resources/ Materials/Approved-Lists. If a previously debarred supplier is reinstated to eligibility subsequent to the award of a contract, the Engineer may approve the use of the supplier when requested by the Contractor. 20(d) Required Certifications A bidder who makes a false certification on the Bidder Certification of Prequalification Classification and Work Capacity Form will be subject to forfeiture of his proposal guaranty or disqualification from bidding on future work for a 90-day period, or both. The State Contract Engineer will determine the imposition and extent of such sanctions. A sworn statement shall be executed by the bidder or his agent certifying that the bidder has not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement, participated in any collusion, or otherwise taken any action to restrain free competitive bidding in connection with the Proposal. The sworn statement shall be part of the electronic bid or in the form of an affidavit furnished by the Department and shall be sworn to before a person who is authorized by the laws of the Common - wealth to administer oaths. The electronic bids shall contain the identical sworn statement. For the purpose of this Section, affixing a Digital ID to the bid will be considered by the Department conditional evidence of signing before a person who is authorized by the laws of the Commonwealth to administer oaths.
e.Acknowledgement of Addenda The bidder shall acknowledge all addenda to the Proposal documents issued prior to receipt of bids by checking the appropriate box on the Department’ s electronic bidding system prior to submitting its electronic bid submission. Bidders are responsible for checking the Department’ s advertisement page at http://cabb.virginiadot.org for addenda to ensure that they have seen and considered all addenda before submitting a bid. Failure to acknowledge any addendum by the method outlined above may result in the bid being rejected as non-responsive and irregular.
f.Signing the Bid Bids shall be signed with a digital identification. The names of persons authorized to sign bids shall be on file with the Department. A name will be considered to be on file if it appears as that of an officer, a partner, a member, a manager or an owner on the current Contractor’ s Prequali - fication Application. Requests by the bidder to revise the list of persons authorized to sign bids on their behalf shall be submitted in writing and approved prior to the date bids are opened. A bid signed by someone whose name is not on file as someone authorized by the bidder may be rejected. If the individual signing the bid for a joint venture is not previously identified as authorized to sign a bid, the firm of record is responsible for the bid.
102.06 Irregular Bids
Bids will be considered irregular and may be rejected for any of the reasons below.
a.The bidder fails to comply with Sections 102.05 and 102.07.
b.The bidder adds any provisions reserving the right to accept or reject an award or enter into a con- tract pursuant to an award except as otherwise permitted in these Specifications.
c.The bidder fails to provide Certification of Prequalification Classification and Work Capacity.
d.The bid is not properly signed.102.05 21(e) The bidder fails to acknowledge all addenda to the Proposal documents by checking the ap- propriate box on the Department’ s electronic bidding system prior to submitting its electronic bid submission.
f.There are unauthorized additions, conditional or alternate bids, or irregularities of any kind that may make the bid incomplete, indefinite, or ambiguous.
g.The prices in the bid are obviously mathematically and materially unbalanced, either in excess or below the cost analysis values as determined by the Department. A mathematically unbalanced bid is a bid containing lump sum or unit price items that do not include reasonable labor, equipment, and material costs plus a reasonable proportionate share of the Bidder’ s overhead costs, other indi - rect costs, and anticipated profit. A materially unbalanced bid is when the Department determines that an award to the Bidder submitting a mathematically unbalanced bid will not result in the lowest ultimate cost to the Department.
h.The bidder fails to submit a statement concerning collusion.
i.The bid submitted identifies a project different than the project for which the bid is submitted.
j.The bid is not totaled or is totaled incorrectly.
k.Erasures or alterations in the bidder’ s entries on paper bids, when allowed, are not initialed by the bidder.
l.Attachments included in the bid are detached or altered when the bid is submitted except as otherwise provided for herein.
m.The bidder fails to register with “eV A Internet e-procurement solution” prior to the award of the Contract.
n.The bidder, if required, fails to register with “E-V erify” program prior to the award of the Contract.
o.The bidder, if required, fails to register or obtain authorization to transact business in Virginia from the State Corporation Commission prior to bidding.
102.07 Proposal Guaranty (Bid Bond)
A bid in excess of $250,000.00 will be rejected unless accompanied by a proposal guaranty, also known as a bid bond, made payable to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and executed on the Department’ s form (Form C-24), or on a form that contains the exact same wording as the Department’ s form. The amount of the proposal guaranty shall be 5 percent of the total bid. However, if the Bidder is eligible for the Vir - giniaWorks Self-Insured Payment & Performance Bond Program and his Bid is greater than $250,000 but less than $350,000, no proposal guaranty is required, but the Bidder is still subject to Section 103.07 of the Specifications. The proposal guaranty shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the power of attorney for the surety’ s attorney-in-fact. When the principal is a joint venture, each member of the joint venture shall be named and shall execute the proposal guaranty. Each surety to the proposal guaranty shall be named, and shall execute the propos - al guaranty, and shall provide a certified copy of the power of attorney for the surety’ s attorney-in-fact.102.07 22102.08—Disqualification of Bidder
a.Any of the reasons set out in the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges may be considered sufficient for the disqualification of a bidder or the rejection of a bid, or both. Such reasons for disqualification are not exclusive and disqualification may occur based on other requirements in these Specifications.
1.The bidder does not have sufficient financial ability to perform the Contract. If a bond is required to ensure performance of a Contract, evidence that the bidder can acquire a surety bond from a corporation included on the U. S. Treasury Listing of Approved Sureties in the amount and type required by the public body will be sufficient to establish the financial ability of the bidder to perform the Contract.
2.The bidder or any current officer, director, owner, project manager, procurement manager, or chief financial official thereof has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere within the past 10 years to a crime related to governmental or nongovernmental construction or contracting, including, but not limited to, a violation of (i) Ethics in Public Contracting stat - utes, § 2.2-4367 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, (ii) the Virginia Governmental Frauds Act, § 18.2-498.1 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, (iii) Conspiracy to Rig Bids to Government stat - utes § 59.1-68.6 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, (iv) any substantially similar law of the United States or another state, or (v) any criminal offense indicating a lack of moral or ethical integrity as may reasonably be perceived to relate to or reflect upon the bidder’ s business practices.
3.The bidder or any officer, director or owner thereof is currently debarred pursuant to an established debarment procedure from bidding or contracting by any public body, agency of another state, or agency of the federal government.
4.The bidder failed to respond to the Department’ s request for clarifying information requested by the Department relevant to the preceding paragraphs 1 through 3.
5.The bidder fails to register and participate in the E-V erify program as required by § 2.2-4308.2 of the Code of Virginia.
6.The bidder or any officer, director, or owner thereof has had a judgment entered against them for violation of the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (Code of Virginia § 8.01-216.1, et seq.).
7.More than one bid for the same work is submitted by an individual, partnership, corporation or joint venture under the same or different name. A bid submitted by an affiliate of an individual, partnership, corporation, or any party of a joint venture will be considered as more than one bid submitted for the same work. Affiliate as used herein shall conform to the definition in Section 101.02 - Terms.
8.Evidence of collusion among bidders; participants in such collusion will not be considered for future bids until new applications for prequalification are approved according to the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges.
9.Incompetency or inadequate machinery, plants, or other equipment as revealed by the bidder’ s financial and experience statements required by these Specifications and the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges.
10.Unsatisfactory workmanship or unsatisfactory progress toward timely completion of the Work as described within Sections 102.01, 102.08, 105.05, 108.03, 108.07, or other applicable 102.08 23Specifications as demonstrated by performance records of current or past work for the Department, other agencies or departments of the Commonwealth, other public bodies in the Commonwealth, or agencies or departments of other states in the United States or federal government.
11.Uncompleted work under contract with the Department that in the judgment of the Engineer might hinder or prevent prompt completion of additional work if awarded.
12.Failure to promptly pay or settle satisfactorily all undisputed bills for materials, labor, equip- ment, supplies, or other items specified in contracts in force at the time the new work comes before the Board for award.
13.Failure to comply with any prequalification rule or regulation of the Department.
14.Failure to cooperate properly with representatives of the Commonwealth inspecting, monitoring or administering construction or disorderly conduct toward any such representative in contracts.
15.Default under a previous contract with the Commonwealth.
16.Failure to pay amounts owed to the Department, as specified in Section 109.10, on other contracts.
17.Making materially false statements in a bid or certified statement submitted to the Department.
18.Documentation of the failure to meet SWaM or DBE requirements on the Department’ s projects according to Section 107.15.
b.Temporary disqualification of a bidder as provided herein will result in the temporary disqual- ification of each member of a joint venture and any affiliate of the bidder having substantially the same operational management or drawing from the same equipment or labor resource pool. Tempo - rary disqualification will also result in disqualification of the bidder, each member of a joint venture, and affiliates as defined herein, for performance of work as subcontractors that in the opinion of the State Contract Engineer, could adversely affect other work under contract to the Department.
c.Disqualified bidders may challenge and appeal their disqualification according to the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges.Disqualified bidders may be allowed to re-apply for prequal - ification and be reinstated on the List of Prequalified Vendors at the discretion of the State Contract Engineer, upon satisfactory compliance with any requirements that may be imposed. In addition, the disqualified bidder shall submit a new prequalification application package and satisfy all prequal - ification requirements of these Specifications and the Rules Governing Prequalification Privileges.
102.09 Submission of Bid
Each bid shall be submitted to the Department by approved electronic media in accordance with the policy and procedures in effect at the time of the advertisement and bid. This information will be posted on the Department’ s Construction website at www.virginiadot.org/business/const, under “Electronic Bidding”. Bids shall be submitted prior to the time and at the place specified in the Notice of Advertisement for Bids. Bids received after that time will be returned to the bidder unopened. The date for the opening of bids may be deferred by the Department, in which case the bidders will be notified.102.09 24102.10
102.10 Withdrawal of Bid
A bidder may withdraw a bid in accordance with the following.
a.Standard Withdrawal: Bids may be withdrawn as allowed by the electronic bidding system until bid closing. A bidder may withdraw a bid provided the request for the withdrawal is written and signed by a person(s) who qualifies to execute the bid in accordance with Section 102.05.
b.Conditional Withdrawal: A bidder who desires to bid on more than one project for which bids are to be opened on the same date and desires to protect himself against receiving awards for more projects than he is equipped to handle may secure the protection desired by completing the portion of the electronic bid for the conditional withdrawal of bids.
102.11 eV A Business-To-Government V endor Registration
Before a Contract is awarded, the apparent successful bidder shall be a registered vendor in “eV A Internet e-procurement solution” (www.eV A.virginia.gov), or the bid will be rejected. When registering with eV A it is the bidder’ s responsibility to have its correct payment and physical addresses entered in eV A in order to receive payments on any contracts that the Department may award. The bidder shall also ensure that his prequalification address(es) matches that registered with eV A.
102.12 Public Opening of Bids
Electronic bids will be decrypted, and along with all other bids opened and read publicly at the time and place specified in the Notice of Advertisement. Interested parties are invited to be present at the opening or view the lettings in real time on the Department’ s Construction website at www.VDOT.Virginia.gov. As-Read results will be posted on this website as soon as possible on the day of the reading.
102.13 “E-V erify” - V erification of Work Authorization
By signing and submitting the bid, the bidder certifies that it does not, and shall not during the perfor - mance of the Contract knowingly employ an unauthorized alien as defined in the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
a.“E-Verify program” means the electronic verification of work authorization program of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (P .L. 104-208), Division C, Title IV , § 403(a), as amended, operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or a successor work authorization program designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or other federal agency authorized to verify the work authorization status of newly hired employees under the Immi - gration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (P .L. 99-603).
b.Contractors with more than an average of 50 employees for the previous 12 months entering into a contract in excess of $50,000 with the Department shall register and participate in the E-Verify program to verify information and work authorization of their newly hired employees performing work pursuant to such contract. Bidders are not required to be registered with E-Verify program at the time bids are submitted, however, prior to award, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder must be registered with E-Verify program or the bid will be rejected. 25103.01
c.Contractors who fail to comply with Section 102.13(b) shall be debarred from contracting with any agency of the Commonwealth for a period up to one year. Such debarment shall cease upon registration and participation in the E-Verify program. SECTION 103—A W ARD AND EXECUTION OF CONTRACTS
103.01 Consideration of Bids
After bids have been opened and read, the Department will evaluate bid submittals to determine whether all requirements of Section 102 and the Proposal have been met. Bids not submitted in accordance with Bids will be compared on the basis of the summation of the products of the quantities shown in the bid schedule and the unit bid prices. The Department may correct arithmetical errors in the bid prior to such comparison, in accordance with Section 102.05. The results of the comparisons will be available to the public after the determination has been made to award the Contract. The Board reserves the right to reject any or all bids, waive informalities, advertise for new bids, or pro - ceed to do the Work otherwise if it deems that the best interest of the Commonwealth would be promoted thereby. The Department may, as part of its deliberations toward award of a contract, enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the apparent lowest responsive and responsible bidder if any of the following is determined to be necessary:
a.Provide and document further clarification of a specification or drawing.
b.Establish an order of priority (ranking) where there are conflicting specification requirements.
c.Ensure proper understanding of the intent\meaning of a specification or drawing.
d.Document the inclusion of inadvertently excluded pages from the Contract.
e.Document the correct unit of measurement where a conflict exists within the bid documents.
f.Document the elimination of an item(s).
g.Limit the Department’ s exposure to contract overruns or potential unbalancing of a bid item. This listing is not to be interpreted as all inclusive, but is provided to give examples of the types of issues that may be addressed in such an agreement. The MOU is not intended to be used to negotiate “as bid” unit prices/quantities or to renegotiate bid requirements with the apparent lowest responsive and respon - sible bidder, but merely to address intent, clarify points of confusion or limit the possible future effects of such issues on project budget. If the terms of the MOU are acceptable to both parties, the Department and the apparent lowest responsive and responsible bidder will document their acceptance of the terms of the MOU by both parties’ signatures. In the case of Federal Oversight projects, FHWA concurrence is also required. The MOU will be added to and become part of the executed Contract.
Source: Virginia Road and Bridge Specifications, 2020 Edition. Pages 44–52 of 1,065.