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 Section 102 and the Proposal will be rejected. 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. 26103.02
103.02 Award of Contract
If the Contract is awarded, the award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder with - out discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, or national origin. In the event of tie bids, prefer - ence will be given to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder who is a resident of Virginia otherwise the tie will be decided by lot. Whenever any bidder is a resident of any other state and such state under its laws allows a resident contractor of that state a preference, a like preference may be allowed to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder who is a resident of Virginia. The award date will not be later than midnight on the 60th day after the opening of bids. If the Board, or the Commissioner; where permitted by law, has not awarded the Contract within this period, the bidder may withdraw his bid without penalty or prejudice unless the time limit is extended by mutual consent. The Virginia Department of General Services shall post and maintain an updated list on its website of all states that allow their resident contractors an absolute preference or a percentage preference and the percentage amounts.
103.03 Cancellation of Award
The Board, or the Commissioner, where permitted by law, may cancel the award of any contract at any time before the execution of the Contract by all parties without liability to the Commonwealth.
103.04 Forfeiture of Proposal Guaranty
The apparent low bidder’ s proposal guaranty shall be subject to forfeiture if the apparent low bidder withdraws his bid prior to award, or fails to sign and return the Contract. The proposal guaranty shall be forfeited according to the forfeiture provisions in Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-4336) and the proposal guaranty. The apparent low bidder’ s refusal to sign a Memorandum of Understanding shall not be grounds for proposal guaranty forfeiture.
103.05 Requirements of Contract Bond
Within 15 calendar days after notification of award of the Contract the successful bidder shall furnish the following bonds for contracts in excess of $250,000.00:
a.A performance bond in the sum of the Contract amount, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the Contract in strict conformity with the plans, Specifications and conditions of the Contract, and
b.A payment bond in the sum of the Contract amount, conditioned upon the prompt payment for all labor, materials, public utility services and rental of equipment used in the prosecution of the work for the Contract. Bidders will not be awarded an unbonded contract when their bid plus the balance of other unbonded contracts exceeds $250,000.00 or as otherwise limited by their current prequalification status. The bonds shall be made on official forms furnished by the Department and shall be executed by the bidder and a surety company carrying a minimum “Best Rating” of “B +” and authorized to do business in Virginia in accordance with the laws of Virginia and the rules and regulations of the State Corporation Commission. To be considered properly executed, the bonds shall include authorized signatures and titles. 27103.06
103.06 Contract Documents
The Contract shall include the following documents unless otherwise specified by Special Provisions or Special Provision Copied Notes:
a.Contract: The Contract shall include: • the fully executed Proposal including all addenda or revisions thereto issued prior to the bid date; the Schedule of Items showing the prices submitted by the bidder; and any Supplemental Specifications, Special Provisions, Special Provision Copied Notes, and attachments issued with the Proposal. • these Specifications. • the Plans. • the edition of the Road and Bridge Standard Drawings cited on the title sheet of the Plans including all addenda or revisions thereto issued prior to the bid date. • Any Memoranda of Understanding agreed to between the Engineer and the Contractor conforming to Section 103.01. • any change orders that the Engineer issues after the Contract execution date.
b.Contract Performance and Payment Bonds: Contract bonds shall conform to Section 103.05.
c.Affidavits and Documents: Affidavits and documents shall include those required to be made a part of the Contract by any federal or state law in effect on the date of the Notice of Advertisement.
d.Workers’ Compensation Insurance Certificate: The Contractor shall procure and continue to maintain for the duration of the Work until final acceptance, Workers’ Compensation and Employ - ers’ Liability Insurance for all of its employees engaged in the Work in an amount not less than the minimum required by Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-4332), and the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, Code of Virginia §65.2-100 et seq. When any of the Work is sublet, the Contractor shall require each subcontractor to provide similar Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Insurance for all of the subcontractor’ s employees engaged in the Work. Within 15 days after the date of the notice of award of the Contract, the bidder shall submit a Certificate of Insurance verifying Workers’ Compensation coverage using the Department’ s forms (Form C-73). The certificate shall be executed by an approved and authorized insurance company as required by state law and shall cover the Contract. The Contractor shall likewise obtain a Certificate of Insurance for Workers’ Compensation coverage from each subcontractor prior to performance of work and shall provide a copy to the Department. The Contractor shall notify the Department in writing at least 30 days prior to the cancellation or reduction of the bonds or insurance required under this Section. The Contractor shall cease all oper - ations on the effective date of the cancellation or reduction unless and until new bonds or insurance are in force and the same evidence of bonds or insurance are provided to the Department.
e.Progress Schedule: The Contractor shall submit a progress schedule in accordance with Section
108.03 or as specified in the Contract.
28103.06
f.Contractor’s Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance Certificate: The Contractor shall procure and maintain at his own expense, for the duration of the Work until final acceptance, insurance of the kinds and in the amounts specified herein. The minimum limits of liability for this insurance shall be as follows: A Combined Single Limit for Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability $1,000,000 Each Occurrence $2,000,000 Aggregate Within 15 days after the date of the notice of award of the Contract, the bidder shall submit Certif - icates of Insurance showing compliance with the above using the Department’ s form (Form C-73). The certificates shall be executed by an approved and authorized insurance company authorized to do business in Virginia and with a minimum “Best Rating” of “B +”, and shall cover the Contract it accompanies. The Contractor’ s Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance shall cover liability of the Contractor for damage because of bodily injury to, or death of persons and damage to, or destruction of property, that may be suffered by persons other than the Contractor’ s own employees as a result of the negligence of the Contractor in performing the Work. Insurance provided in compliance with this Section shall include liability of the Contractor for damage to or destruction of property that may be suffered by persons other than the Contractor’ s own employees as a result of blasting operations of the Contractor in performing the work covered by the Contract. If any part of the Work is sublet, insurance meeting the same requirements shall be provided by or on behalf of the subcontractors and evidence of such insurance shall be submitted with the sublet request. Insurance coverage in the minimum amounts set forth herein shall not be construed to relieve the Contractor or subcontractor(s) of liability in excess of such coverage, nor shall it preclude the Commonwealth from taking such actions as are available to it under any other provision of this Contract or otherwise in law.
103.07 Failure to Furnish Bonds or Certificate of Insurance
The successful bidder’ s failure to furnish to the Department acceptable bonds, workers’ compensation insurance certificates or the Contractor’ s Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance certif - icates within 15 days after the date of Award Recommendation Letter shall be considered just cause for cancellation of the award and forfeiture of the proposal guaranty. In such event, the proposal guaranty shall become the property of the Commonwealth, not as a penalty but in liquidation of damages sus - tained. The Contract may then be awarded to the next lowest responsive and responsible bidder, or the Work may be re-advertised or constructed otherwise, as determined by the Board or the Department.
103.08 Contract Audit
The Contractor shall permit the Department to audit, examine, and copy all documents, computerized records, electronic mail, or other records of the Contractor during the life of the Contract and for a period 29103.09 of not less than five years after the date of final payment, or the date the Contractor is declared in default of Contract, or the date of termination of the Contract. The documents and records shall include, but not be limited to:
a.Those that were used to prepare and compute the bid, prepare all schedules used on the project, record the progress of work on the project, accounting records, purchasing records, personnel payments, or records necessary to determine employee credentials, vendor payments, and written policies and procedures used to record, compute, and analyze all costs incurred on the project, including those used in the preparation or presentation of claims to the Department.
b.Records pertaining to the project as the Department may deem necessary in order to permit adequate evaluation and verification of Contractor’ s compliance with Contract requirements, compliance with the Department’ s business policies, and compliance with provisions for pricing change orders or claims submitted by the Contractor or the Contractor’ s subcontractors, insur - ance agents, surety bond agents, and material suppliers shall be made available to the auditor(s) at the Department’ s request. The Contractor shall make his personnel available for interviews when requested by the Department.
c.Upon request, the Contractor shall provide the Department with data files on data disks or other suitable alternative computer data exchange format. Data furnished by the Contractor that cannot be verified will be subject to a complete audit by the Department. The Contractor shall ensure that the requirements of this provision are made applicable to his subcon - tractors, insurance agents, surety bond agents, and material suppliers. The Contractor shall cooperate and shall cause all related parties to furnish or make available in an expeditious manner all such information, materials, and data. The Contractor shall provide immediate access to records for the audit and provide immediate acceptable facilities for the audit. Failure on the part of the Contractor to afford the Department immediate access or proper facilities for the audit will be considered failure to cooperate and will result in disqualification as a bidder in accordance with Section 102.08. Upon completion of the Contract audit, any adjustments or payments the Contractor owes to the Depart - ment as a result of the audit shall be made to the Department within 60 days from presentation of the Department’ s findings to the Contractor. Failure on the part of the Contractor to make such payment may result in disqualification as a bidder in accordance with Section 102.08. If the Contractor disagrees with the findings of the Department’ s audit, the Contractor may dispute the findings in accordance Section 105.19 or the Code of Virginia as amended and as applicable, except that if the time provided for the Contractor to submit a claim within 60 days after final payment has expired, the Contractor shall instead submit a written claim to dispute the findings to the Engineer within 60 days from the date the Contractor received the findings. Failure on the part of the Contractor to submit a claim disputing the Department’ s findings within such 60-day period shall constitute a waiver and release of any claim disputing the Department’ s findings.
103.09 Execution of Contract
a.The bid as submitted, including the Contract Documents specified in Section 103.06 shall constitute the Contract upon submittal of the Contract bond, Contractor’ s bodily injury and property damage liability insurance certificates, and workers’ compensation insurance certificate and the Depart - 30103.09 ment’ s final execution of the Contract. After the Department has recommended the bid for award, the apparent low bidder shall be required to sign and return a paper copy of the Contract to the State Contract Engineer. Failure to sign and return the Contract will result in cancellation of the award and forfeiture of the proposal guaranty. If the Contract is not awarded within the time limit specified in Section 103.02, the bidder may withdraw his bid without penalty or prejudice unless the time limit is extended by mutual consent. The Department will execute the Contract upon receipt of the Contractor’ s signed Contract. The Contract shall be considered binding and effective only when it has been fully executed by all parties.
b.Notice of Contract execution . The Contract Engineer will notify the Contractor of the date that the Department has executed the Contract. The Contract Engineer or his designee will confirm the Contract execution date in such notice. The notice will identify the Engineer’ s authorized represen - tative responsible for written directives and changes to the Contract, who will contact the Contractor to arrange a pre-construction and scheduling conference.
c.Unbonded Contracts In the event the successful bidder on an unbonded contract is unwilling or unable to fulfill the Contract and fails to notify the Department prior to the Department’ s execution of the Contract, the bidder will be declared in default in accordance with Section 108.07. In the event the bidder, on an unbonded contract, notifies the Department prior to the Department’ s execution of the Contract of such unwillingness or inability to fulfill the Contract, the bidder will be enjoined from bidding on unbonded contracts for a period of no less than 90 days from the date of notice by the Department. A bidder who has never been enjoined or defaulted on an unbonded contract and who notifies the Department prior to the Department’ s execution of the Contract of such unwillingness or inability to fulfill the Contract will not be enjoined for the first occurrence; however, said bidder will not be permitted to rebid or perform work on that specific Contract.
103.10 Assignments, Transfers, or Assumptions of the Contract
The Contractor shall not assign, transfer, convey, or allow any person or business to assume or take over, in whole or in part, the Contract, the Contractor’ s duties, or performance obligations, arising under, from or relating to the Contract, except for subcontracting as provided in Section 105.06 or the rights of a surety issuing a performance bond for the Contract, without the Engineer’ s specific written autho - rization. Any such unauthorized assignment, transfer, conveyance, assumption, or take over agreement shall be void and shall constitute a material breach of the Contract. No assignment, transfer, conveyance, assumption, or take over agreement shall relieve the Contractor from its duties and obligations under the Contract, or release the Contractor of any liability under the Contract bonds. SECTION 104—SCOPE OF WORK
104.01 Intent of Contract
The intent of the Contract is to provide for completion of the Work specified therein in accordance with the Contract for the Contract amount and within the Contract time limit. Further, it is understood that the
Source: Virginia Road and Bridge Specifications, 2020 Edition. Pages 53–57 of 1,065.