102.10 Public Reading of Proposals :
Proposals will be received, decrypted, read publicly, and published at the time and place indicated in the Notice to Contractors. Bidders, their authorized agents, and other interested parties are invited to be present.
102.11 Disqualification of Bidders :
Either of the following reasons may be considered as being sufficient for the disqualification of a bidder and the rejection of their Propos al or Proposals.
i.More than one Proposal for the same work from an individual, firm, or corporation under the same or different name. ii. Evidence of collusion among bidders. Participants in such collusion will receive no recognition as bidders for any future work of the Division until any such participant shall have been reinstated as a qualified bidder.
102.12 Irregular Proposals :
Proposals may be considered irregular and rejected for an y of the following reasons:
i.When the Proposal is not submitted by the electronic file furnished by the Division on Bid Express or if the form is altered. Use of a Division approved computer generated Schedule of Items shall not be considered an alteration of form or format within the meaning of these Specifications. ii. When there are unauthorized additions, conditional or alternate bids, or irregularities of any kind which may tend to make the Proposal incomplete, indefinite, or ambiguous as to its meaning. Al so, when Division approved computer generated Schedule of Items show any alteration of format, additions or amendments not called for, errors or omissions in units of measure, or erasures. iii. When the bidder adds any provisions reserving the right to accept o r reject an award, or to enter into a Contract pursuant to an award. This does not exclude a bid limiting the maximum gross amount of awards acceptable to any one bidder at any one bid letting, providing that any selection of awards will be made by the Div ision. iv. Failure to sign or properly execute the Proposal.
v.Failure to indicate a proposed goal in Section C of the Notice contained in the Proposal, when a Division determined goal is indicated in paragraph 5 of the Special Provision for Disadvantaged Busine ss Enterprise Utilization. vi. Failure to properly acknowledge receipt of amendment(s) in accordance with Section J of the notice contained in the proposal. vii. Failure to show the unexpired West Virginia Contractor’s License Number when required in Section H of the notice contained in the proposal. vii. The bidder is not prequalified in the categories of work indicated in the proposal in a combination of those categories of work in order to perform work amounting to not less than 30% of the contract cost. viii. The proposal is mathematically and materially unbalanced. A mathematically unbalanced bid contains 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 indirect costs and anticipated profit. A Materially Unbalanced Bid is when the Division determines that an award to the Bidder submitting a Mathematically Unbalanced Bid will not result in the lowest ultimate cost to the Division. 15 102.13 -MATERIAL GUARANTY : The successful bidder shall furnish a complete statement of the origin, composition and manufacture of all materials to be used in the construction of the work, together with samples when required. Samples may be subjected to the tests provided for in these Specifications to determine their quality and fitness for the work. 16 SECTION 103 AWARD AND EXECUTION OF CONTRACT 103.1 -CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS : After the proposals are opened , read publicly, and published, they will be compared on the basis of the summation of the products of the approximate quantities shown in the bid schedule by the unit bid prices. The results of such comparisons will be made available to the public after they are presented to the division’s award committee . In the event of discrepancy between unit bid prices and extensions, the unit bid price shall govern. The right is reserved to reject any or all proposals, to waive technicalities or to advertise for new proposals if, in the judgment of the Commissioner, the best interests of the State will be promoted. Propos als containing special provisions for disadvantaged business enterprises utilization, will be considered as follows:
a.When the low bidder's goal submitted in Section C - DBE Utilization Certification, of the Notice contained in the project proposal, meets or exceeds the contract DBE goals, and the
Division c — onsiders the amount of the bid to be reasonable, such bidder will be the successful
bidder.
b.When the low bidder's goal submitted in Section C - DBE Utilization Certification, of the Notice contained in the project proposal, does not meet the DBE contract goal and the
Division c — onsiders the amount of the bid to be reasonable, the bid will be accepted if he or
she can show that good faith efforts were made prior to the bid to meet the contract goals.
c.When the low bidder cannot satisfy the Division that good faith efforts have been made, this bid may be rejected, and the second low bid will be evaluated in the same manner. This procedure will continue, evaluating bids in the same manner, evaluating bids in ascending order, until either the contract DBE goal is attained or good faith efforts can be verified and that bid will be accepted provided the amount thereof is considered reasonable by the Division. 103.2 -BID PROTESTS Each Bidder, by submitting its bid, expressly recognizes the limitation on its rights to protest contained herein, expressly waives all other rights and remedies and agrees that the decision on any protest, as provided herein, shall be final and conclusive unless wholly arbitrary.
a.A Bidder may protest any determination regarding the bids received for a project by filing a notice of intent to protest by electronic mail to DOHContractProcure@wv.gov , or hand delivery or courier to the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, Contract Administration Division Director, Charleston, WV. Such notice shall be provided: (a) not before the opening of the bids for the project on which intent to protest is being filed; and (b) no later than two (2) calendar days after the Division opens bids for the project on which intent to p rotest is being filed. The notice of protest shall specifically state the grounds of the protest.
b.Within five (5) calendar days of the notice of intent to protest the protesting Bidder must file with the Division a detailed statement of the grounds, legal authorities, and facts, including all documents and evidentiary statements, in support of the protest. Evidentiary statements, if any, shall be submitted under penalty of perjury. The protesting Bidder shall have the burden of proving its protest by clear and convincing evidence. 17 c) Failure to file a notice of protest or a detailed statement within the applicable period shall constitute an unconditional waiver of the right to protest the evaluation or qualified process and decisions there under.
d.Unless other wise required by law, no evidentiary hearing or oral argument shall be provided. The Division shall issue a written decision regarding the protest within five (5) calendar days after it receives the detailed statement of protest.
e.If the Contract Administ ration Division Director concludes that the Bidder submitting the protest has established a basis for protest, the Division will determine what remedial steps, if any, are necessary or appropriate to address the issue(s) raised in the protest. Such steps may include, without limitation, withdrawing or revising the decisions, issuing a new solicitation, or taking other appropriate actions.
f.Should the Bidder wish to appeal the decision of the Contract Administration Division Director, he or she shall submit t he appeal to the Secretary of Transportation / Commissioner of Highways within two (2) calendar days of receiving the decision. The Secretary of Transportation/Commissioner of Highways will then issue a final decision on the appeal within five (5) calenda r days from the date of appeal. Such decision shall be final and conclusive. 103.3 -AWARD OF CONTRACT : The award of Contract, if it be awarded, will be made within thirty ( 30) calendar days after the opening of Proposals to the lowest responsible and prequalified bidder. The Commissioner may, with the agreement of the successful bidder, withhold award for any length of time. The successful bidder will be notified that their bid has been accepted and that they have been awarded the Contract. 103.3.1 -Contractor’s Direct Deposit Requirements: The Contractor shall receive all payments electronically via Direct Deposit. Prior to Award of the Contract, the Contractor shall be approved and registered to accept payments through the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office electronically (www.wvsao.gov ). 103.4 -CANCELLATION OF AWARD : The Division reserves the right to cancel the award of any Contract at any time before the execution of the Contract documents by all parties without any liability against the Division. 103.5 -RETURN OF PROPOSAL GUARANTY : All proposal guaranties, except those of the two lowest bidders, will be released immediately following the opening and evaluating of the Proposals. The retained proposal guaranty of the unsuccessful of the two lowest bidders will be released within 10 days following the award of Contract, and that of the successful bidder will be released after a satisfactory bond has been furnished, as described in Section 103.6, and the Contract has been executed. 103.6 -REQUIREMENT OF CONTRACT BOND : At the time of the execution of the contract, the successful bidder shall execute and deliver to the Division a good and sufficient surety or collateral bond payable to the State of West Virginia. The successful b idder is required to submit the aforementioned bond in the amount indicated by that bidder’s published Performance Rating. The Performance Rating in effect fifteen
15.calendar days prior to the bid letting shall apply. Performance Ratings and their corre sponding bond amounts are available in the Contractor Prequalification Application. The submission of the aforementioned bond in the amount specified is the standard expectation of the Division in order 18 to comply with the current Special Provision for Subc ontractor Prompt Payment and does not necessitate the withholding of retainage by the Division from monies due on future progress voucher estimates payable under the terms of the contract. The specified percentage of the contract price required for the bon d shall be consistent and applicable throughout the duration of the contract for which the bond is being submitted and shall be consistent and applicable to all contracts executed between the Division and that particular contractor. 103.7 -INSURANCE REQUIR EMENTS : The Contractor shall be required, in addition to any other form of insurance or bonds required under the terms of the Contract and Specifications, to procure and maintain during the life of the Contract the following types of insurance in the amounts set forth. All such policies of insurance, except for Workers’ Compensation, shall name the Division as an additional insured and shall be occurrence policies and the Certificate of Insurance provided to the Division shall so specify. The policies must provide coverage during the life of the contract regardless of when the claim is filed subject to statute of limitations. 103.7.1 -Contractor’s General Liability Insurance: The Contractor shall maintain commercial general liability (CGL) coverage with limits not less than: General Aggregate $2,000,000 Products/Completed Operations Aggregate $2,000,000 Personal & Advertising Injury $1,000,000 Each Occurrence * $1,000,000 Damages to Rented Premises $300,000 Medical Expense Limit $5,000 * Each Occurrence limit shall be $2,000,000 when performing any operations that are subject to 107.8 – Railway -Highway Provisions. The CGL shall be written on ISO occurrence form CG 00 01, or equivalent, and shall cover liability arising from premises -operations, independent contractors, products -completed operations, personal injury and advertising injury, and liability assumed under an insured contract. There shall be no endorsement or modification of the CGL limiting the scope of coverage for liability arising from explosion, collapse, or underground property damage whenever work involving these exposures are undertaken. The CGL policy shall include endorsemen ts that amend the aggregate limits of insurance to be applicable to each construction project separately. Contractor shall furnish an ACORD Form 25 -S Certificate of Insurance, or its equivalent, with a 30-day notice of cancellation provisions to evidence this CGL coverage. 103.7.2 -Workers’ Compensation –Insurance and Employer’s Liability Insurance: The contractor shall also give evidence for Workers’ Compensation Insurance and Employers Liability Insurance, with a 30 -day notice of cancelation. The benefits provided under the Workers’ Compensation shall be benefits prescribed by West Virginia Code. The Employer’s Liability policy must include coverage to protect the contractor for claims brought under Section 23-4-2(d)(2)(ii) of West Virginia Code. The limits of insurance under this section shall be as follows: Each accident $1,000,000 Each disease $1,000,000 Each disease/employee $1,000,000
Source: West Virginia Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, 2023 Edition. Pages 24–28 of 1,006.