Wisconsin WisDOT Standard Specifications (within FDM) — Section 103

Effective with the December 20 18 Letting 15 2019 Standard Speci fications Section 103 Contract Award and Execution

103.1Consideration of Proposals

(1)Following the public opening of t he proposals received, the de partment will com pare them based on the summation of the products o f the quantities of work listed and the contract unit p rices offered. In case of discrepancies, errors, or omissions, the department will make corrections as specified in 102.7.1 . In awarding contracts, the department, in addition to considering the amounts stated in the proposals, may consider one or more of the following:

1.The responsibility of the vari ous bidders as determined fro m a study of the dat a req uired under 102.1 .

2.The information required on the bidding proposal.

3.Information fro

m other investigations that the department m ay make. (2)The department will also review the proposals for the irregula rities descri bed in 102.7 and review the eligibility of the bidde r as specified in 102.13. The department will determine wh ether irregularities are matters of form rather than substance and can be waived without prejudice to other bidders or the public interest. (3)The bidder may submit individual proposals for more than one c ontract being let. Although each individual proposal may not exceed the bidder’s rating, a combi nation of more than one proposal and incomplete work currently under contract may exceed the bidder’ s rating. If the bidder exceeds its rating, the department may award a proposal or combination of p roposals within the bidder’s rating and most advantageous to the department. (4)The department may reject any or all proposals, or waive techn icalities. The department, in its own interest, may re-advertise for bi ds or proceed with the work in another manner.

103.2Awarding the Contract

(1)Unless rejecting all proposals, the department will award the contract to the lowest res ponsible bidder whose proposal complies with 103.1 . If two or more bidders submit identical low bids, the departm ent will determine the successful bidder by flipping a coin. (2)The bidder, by written notice before the time set for opening of bids, may limit the bidder’ s total dollar volume of work or number of contra cts to be awarded in a lettin g, and the department will determine which contract or contracts to award. (3)If the department does not make an award within 30 calendar da y s after opening the proposals, the lowest responsible bidder, afte r those 30 days, may request, in writing, that the department make the award. Stipulate a deadline of 10 business days or more, after the date of the request, for the department to make the award . If the department does not make t he award within the stipulated time, the bidder is relieved of its obligation to execute a contract and contract bond.

103.3Canceling the Award

(1)The department may cancel a cont ract award befor e execution wi thout liability.

103.4Returning Proposal Guaranty

(1)The department will return the proposal guaranties of all exce pt the lowest responsible bidder within 5 business days after determining the lowest qualified bidder. Th e department will return the lowest responsible bidder's proposal g uaranty as soon as the bidder executes and submits in the proper form the contract, contract bond, and other required documents. (2)If the department does not make the award within the time stip ulated by the lowest re sponsible bidder as specified in 103.2(3) , the department will return their proposal guaranty within 5 b usiness days after that deadline.

103.5Contract Bond

(1)At the time of submitting the c ontract for execution by the de pa rtment, deposit a valid surety bond with the department in the amount designated on the bond form coveri ng both performance and payment. Submit the contract bond on a department-furnished form. (2)Ensure that the surety is licen sed to do business in Wisconsin and has an equivalent A.M. Best rating of A- or better. The surety is subject to the department’s appr oval, and to the governor’s approval, if required by law.103.6 Executing and Approving the Contract (1)The bidder shall execute the contract. The principal and the s ureties shall exec ute the contract bond. Present the contract, t he contract bond, 30 percent rule docume ntation using department form WS1081, and all other department-re quired forms within 10 busin ess days after the date of notice of the award of the contract. Dep artment form WS1081 is available at: Effective with the December 2018 Letting 16 2019 Standard Speci fications https://wisconsindot.gov/hcciDocs/contracting-info/ws1081.zip (2)The contract is not binding on the department until the final execution of the c ontract. The contract final execution date is the date the final signer signs the con tract.

103.7Failure to Execute Contract

(1)The department may cancel the award if, within 10 business days after the date of notice of the award of the contract, the successful b idder does not do the followin g:

1.Return required forms or supply other department-requested information.

2.Exec

ute a contract and c ontract bond, as provided in 103.6 . (2)If the department cancels the awar d, the department may retain the proposal gu aranty, not as a penalty, but in payment of liquidated damages the department su stains due to the bidder's failure to execute. If the retained proposal guaranty is a bid bond, pay t he department the proposal guaranty amount within 10 business days of demand.

103.8Nullifying the Award

(1)The department will accept the bidder's request to nullify and will nullify the bidder's acceptance of the contract if the following c onditions are met:

1.The bidder files the required contract documents in prope r form and order.

2.The department does not execute the contract within 30 cale ndar days after the bidder files the required

contract documents.

3.The bidder files a written re quest to nullify with the depa rtment. Wait the 30 dayss pecified in item 2 of

103.8(1) before filing that request. Stipulate in the request a deadline for the department to execute the contract. This deadline must be 10 business days or more after the filing date of the request.

4.The department does not execute the contract within the sti pulated deadline.

(2)The department will notify the bidder, in writing, if the depa rtment agrees to nu llify the award. The department's failure to act within the stipulated deadline also constitutes nullification. (3)The request to nullify is a vol untary act of the bidder. The d epartment's nullific ation relieves the bidder, the bidder's surety, and the department of all obligations unde r the award. (4)Unless and until the bidder files a request to nullify, and un til the department nullifies, the department may exec ute the contract withou t prejudice to any contract terms and conditions.

Effective with the December 2018 Letting 17 2019 Standard Speci fications Section 104 Scope of Work

104.1Intent of the Contract

(1)The intent of the contract is to state the roles and obligations of the department and contractor

regarding the construction, exe cution, and completion of the work. Perform the work as the contract specifies.

104.2Revisions to the Contract

104.2.1 General

(1)The department reserves the right to revise the contract at an y time. These revisions do not invalidate

the contract or release the su rety. The contractor agrees to complete the contract as revised. Do not proceed with revised work without the project engineer’s prior written approval. Upon receiving written approval, proceed immediately with the revised work.

(2)The contractor shall notify the project engineer if the contra ctor believes a revision to the contract is

necessary. Whenever the words notice, notification, or notify a re used in 104.2 with reference to the contractor, the contractor shall provide notice as specified in 104.3 . The project engineer will determine if a potential contrac t revision is necessary and wil l notify the contractor of its determination in writing. The contractor must p roceed with the project engineer’s direction.

(3)If the project engineer determi nes a revision is necessary, th e project engineer will revise the contract

time as specified in 108.10 and will revise the contract price as specified in 109.4 . The contractor is entitled to no reimbursement fo r loss of anticipated profit.

(4)If the project engineer decides t hat a potential contract revision identified by the contractor is not

necessary, and the cont ractor does not agree with the project e ngineer's decision, the contractor may pursue a claim under 105.13 . 104.2.2 Issuing Contract Change Orders 104.2.2.1 Change Orders for Extra Work

(1)The department will issue a contract change order to accomplis h extra work as defined in 101.3 .

104.2.2.2 Change Orders for Differing Site Conditions

(1)During the progress of the wo rk, if one or more of the followi ng differing conditions are encountered at

the site, the party discovering the condition shall promptly no tify the other party of the specific condition before further distur bing the site and before further performing the affected work.

1.A subsurface or latent physi cal condition, differing materially from those indicated in the contract.

2.An unknown physical conditio n of an unusual nature, differing materially from those ordinarily encountered

and generally recognized as inherent in the work specified in t he contract.

(2)If the contractor discovers the differing condition, the contr actor shall provide oral notification as

specified in 104.3.2 , of the specific differing condition before further disturbing the site and before further performing the affected work.

(3)The project engineer will investigate the conditions. If the p roject engineer determines the conditions

materially differ and cause an in crease or decrease in the cost , time, or both, required to perform the work under the cont ract, the project engineer will adjust the contract price, time, or both, and modify the contract in writing accordingly. The project engineer will respond to the contractor as to whether or not an adjustment is warranted. The project engineer will follow the contractor notification procedures specified in 104.3 .

(4)The department will not allow a c ontract adjustment unless the contractor has pr ovided the required

notice as specified in 104.3 . 104.2.2.3 Change Orders for Engineer-Ordered Suspensions

(1)If the project engineer suspends or delays the performance of all or any portion of the work in writing

for an unreasonable period of time (not originally anticipated, customary, or inherent to the construction industry) and the co ntractor believes that additio nal payment, contract time, or both, is due because of the suspension or delay, the contractor shall no tify the engineer as specified in 104.3 .

(2)The project engineer will evaluat e the contract or's request. If the project engineer agrees that the cost,

time, or both, required for the performance of the contract has increased due to the suspension or delay and the suspension or delay was caused by conditions beyo nd the control of and not the fault of the contractor, its suppliers, or subcontractors at any approve d tier, and not caused by weather, the project engineer will make an adj ustment and modify the contrac t in writing accordingly. The project engineer will respond to the contra ctor as to whether or not an adjustment is warranted as specified in 104.3.6 .

Source: Wisconsin Standard Specifications for Highway and Structure Construction, 2019 Edition. Pages 24–25 of 601.

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102 Bidding Requirements and Conditions

104 Scope of Work