Construct North Unit Visitor Center at BADL

Watch out for

• Large bid guarantee with strict seal rules. You must post a bid bond of 20 percent of your price (up to $3M) with the bid, and a scan without a clear surety seal and Power of Attorney seal gets the bid rejected, so you need a surety lined up before bidding. Scanned copy of your official bid bond must reflect identifiable seal and Power of Attorney seal.
• Large project and bonding capacity. A $10M to $20M, two-year building project with performance and payment bonds is a big stretch for many small businesses in cash flow, bonding and staffing. The estimated project magnitude of construction is $10M to $20M.
• Conflicting bid deadline time. SAM.gov shows 12:00 PM Central, the solicitation also says bids are due by 11:59 AM CT, and one passage says the opening is 12:00 PM ET; a bid that arrives late can be rejected, so confirm the time with the CO and send early. Bid Opening Date/Time: Thursday, 10/15/2026 @ 12:00PM ET
• Conflicting performance period. The solicitation form says 730 days but the specifications say 640 calendar days, which changes your schedule and cost; ask the CO which governs (the Q&A deadline has passed, so check amendments). Work shall be completed within 640 calendar days of the start date
• Set-aside listed differently in SAM.gov. The SAM.gov record shows no set-aside, but the solicitation says it is a 100 percent small business set-aside; the solicitation controls, so only small businesses should expect to be considered. This construction requirement is set aside for 100% Small Business under NAICS 236220
• Limitations on subcontracting report due with the bid. You must show in a worksheet that you will not pay more than 85 percent of the contract amount (excluding materials) to firms that are not similarly situated, which limits how much a general contractor can pass to subs (the worksheet says no more than 85 percent of the amount paid, excluding materials). Bidder must submit a completed Limitations in Subcontracting Report worksheet with the bid, outlining
• Email-only bid with required confirmation. Bids go by email only and you must get a receipt confirmation; the solicitation lists two different domains for the CO's email (ios.doi.gov and ios.gov), so use the address in the submission instructions and call if unsure. It is mandatory that you confirm the government has received your bid.
• No in-person site visit; virtual visit and question deadline have passed. The virtual site visit was 9/10/2026 and questions were due 9/17/2026, and there is no formal on-site visit, so you must price a remote park job from documents and your own look at a publicly accessible site. A FORMAL ON-SITE VISIT WILL NOT TAKE PLACE FOR
• Archaeology, cultural resource and wildlife constraints. Ground disturbance may be monitored by an archaeologist, finds can stop work, and equipment must be pressure washed and weed-free, which can add cost and schedule risk. may have oversite by an Owner provided Archeologist. Coordinate schedules as required.
• Price-only award with unbalanced bid risk. Award goes to the lowest price, and bids with materially unbalanced line item prices can be thrown out, so price the base and option items realistically. The Government may reject a bid as nonresponsive if the prices bid are materially unbalanced between line