Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 157-3-4 - Bidding Requirements and Conditions4.1. Pre-qualification of Bidders. All bidders on projects let to contract by the division shall be pre-qualified as provided for by rules or regulations, or both, of the commissioner. A Certificate of Qualification will be issued by the commissioner fixing the amount of incomplete work a contractor may have under contract at any one time and the type of work for which the contractor is qualified. 4.1.a. To obtain a Certificate of Qualification, the contractor must file an Application containing the information as required based on the category of work for which prequalification is being requested.4.1.b. Applications for qualification will be accepted by the commissioner until 15 calendar days prior to the date set for receiving bids on projects on which the applicant may wish to submit a proposal. Award of a certificate may be held in abeyance until such time as the commissioner is able to verify all references and satisfy himself or herself as to the applicant's qualifications.4.1.c. No contractor will be issued a Certificate of Qualification until the division has had adequate time to review and verify the adequacy of the information provided in the "Contractor's Prequalification Statement".4.1.d. It is the contractor's responsibility to complete any electronic bidding registration from the division, and acquire all the necessary software, hardware, and networking capabilities for the electronic bidding process.4.2. Contents of Proposal Forms. The proposal forms will show the location and description of the proposed work, the approximate estimates of the various quantities of work to be performed, the amount of the proposal guaranty, the number of working days or date on which the work is to be completed, and the date, time and place of opening of proposals. The form will also include any special provisions or requirements not contained in the Standard Specifications. 4.2.a. The plans, specifications, and other documents designated in the proposal form are considered a part of the proposal form whether attached or not attached.4.3. Interpretation of Approximate Estimates. The quantities appearing in the proposal form are approximate only and are prepared for the comparison of bids. Payment to the contractor will be made only for the actual quantities of work and accepted, or for materials furnished in accordance with the contract. If upon completion of the construction the actual quantities show either increase or decrease, the unit bid prices offered in the proposal will prevail except as further provided.4.4. Examination of Plans, Specifications and Site of Work. The bidder is required to examine carefully the plans, specifications, supplemental specifications, contract forms, and the site of the work contemplated. The submission of a bid shall be considered prima facie evidence that the bidder has made such examination and has judged for and satisfied himself or herself as to the character, quality, and quantity of work to be performed and material required to be furnished under the contract.4.5. Preparation of Proposal. The bidders' proposal must be submitted through the division's bid express website. The bidder must furnish a unit price or a lump sum price as called for in the proposal, in numerical figures, for each pay item listed, except that in the case of alternates, the bid may be made on only one alternate if so desired.4.5.a. The contractor or qualified and authorized agent shall use a digital signature as provided at law for the proposal submission.4.5.b. The proposal shall comply with West Virginia Contractor Licensing Act, W. Va. Code § 30-42-1et seq., except that on federal-aid projects a contractor's license is not required at time of bid, but will be required before work can begin.4.6. Irregular Proposals. Proposals will be considered irregular and will be rejected for any of the following reasons:4.6.a. When the Proposal is not submitted by the electronic file furnished by the Contract Administration Division on Bid Express or if the form is altered. Use of a Contract Administration Division approved computer generated Schedule of Items is not considered an alteration of the form or format.4.6.b 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. Also, 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 measures or erasures.4.6.c When the bidder adds any provisions reserving the right to accept or 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, provided that any selection of awards will be made by the division.4.6.d Failure to sign or properly execute the proposal.4.6.e Failure to indicate a proposed goal in Section C, Item 3 of the notice contained in the proposal, when a division determined goal is indicated in paragraph 5 of the special provision for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Utilization.4.6.f. Failure to properly acknowledge receipt of amendments in accordance with Section J of the notice contained in the proposal.4.6.g. Failure to show an unexpired West Virginia Contractor's License Number when required in Section H of the notice contained in the proposal.4.6.h. 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.4.6.i. 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.4.7. Proposal Guaranty. No proposal will be considered unless accompanied by a digitally signed proposal guaranty bid bond in the form of a certified or cashier's check, or bid bond, in the amount specified in the proposal, made payable to the West Virginia Division of Highways. Bid bonds will be accepted only if Submitted electronically. Any proposal accompanied by a bond executed on a copy, duplicate, or facsimile will be rejected.4.8. Delivery of Proposals. Each proposal shall be submitted electronically and must be received by the Bid Express website by the time designated in the proposal to proceed with the letting.4.9. Bidders may withdraw Proposals during the course of reading of bids prior to the actual reading of bids on the project for which the bid is withdrawn only electronically through the Bid Express automatic bid withdrawal function or by providing a written document at the site of the letting in the following form: "I, the undersigned, of ________________________, Contractor(s) hereby acknowledge that I have this day withdrawn the sealed bid of _________________________________, Contractor(s) on West Virginia Division of Highways Project No. __________________________".
Should a bidder wish to provide a written document at the site of the letting, they must notify the Division of their intent to do so via email to DOHContractProcure@wv.gov no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time on the Friday before the scheduled letting. Additionally, the written notice(s) provided by the bidder withdrawing his or her bid(s) must be provided prior to the reading of the call(s) on which the bid is being withdrawn. No bid may be withdrawn on any call once the apparent bids have been read by the Division.
4.10. Combination Proposals. If the division so elects, proposals may be issued for projects in combination or separately, so that bids may be submitted either on the combination or on separate units of the combination. The division reserves the right to make awards on combination bids or separate bids to the best advantage of the division. No combination bids other than those specifically set up in proposals by the division will be considered. Separate contracts will be written for each individual project included in the combination.4.11. 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.4.12. Disqualification of Bidders. Either of the following reasons may be considered as being sufficient for the disqualification of a bidder and the rejection of his or her proposal or proposals.4.12.a. More than one proposal for the same work from an individual, firm, or corporation under the same or different name.4.12.b. 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.4.13. 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 the specifications to determine their quality and fitness for the work.4.14. Free Competitive Bidding Affidavit. Prior to the approval of federal-aid contracts, a sworn statement in the form of an affidavit shall be executed by, or on behalf of, the person, firm, association, or corporation to whom such contract is to be awarded.