Solicitation
TX FW LGA 10(5) Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive
Department of Transportation · Federal Highway Administration · Sol. 6982AF27B000006
Due in 24 daysSmall business
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The Federal Highway Administration (Central Federal Lands Division) wants a contractor to rebuild about 12.33 miles of Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive inside Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge near Los Fresnos, Texas. Work is full-depth reclamation of the old chip seal and gravel road, new aggregate surface, speed bumps, signs, a small concrete pad and an aluminum gate. It is a sealed-bid (IFB) construction job set aside for small businesses, with bids due November 3, 2026 and a government price range of $2 million to $5 million.
Watch out for
- Paper-only sealed bid with original bonds. Bids cannot be sent electronically and the bid bond must be an original with a corporate seal, so you need time to courier it to Colorado before 2:00 p.m. on bid day.
ELECTRONIC BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
- Must price all three aggregate alternates. Leaving out a price for any alternate can get the bid thrown out, and the government picks which alternate to add after finding the low bidder on Schedule A.
Failure to provide pricing for all alternates may result in the bid
- Completion time not visible in the provided text. The IFB points to SCR Section 108.01 for the completion deadline, but that section was cut from the text read, so you cannot yet confirm the schedule or liquidated damages.
The Contractor shall begin performance within 10 calendar days and complete it within * calendar days after receiving award notice to
- Sole-source brand-name speed bumps. The speed bumps must come from RubberForm Recycled Products, so you must get a quote from that one supplier and carry the price risk.
The selected contractor is to purchase speed bumps directly from Rubberform Recycled Products,
- Government field office and extras must be furnished. The contractor must supply and run a field office with furniture, satellite internet, a copier/printer and supplies for the government inspectors, which adds cost.
Furnish all necessary supplies for the AIO device, including paper.
- Subsurface data is old and thin. Soil data for the road is from 2020 borings for a different project number, and the engineer says the south loop has very little data, so ground conditions could differ from what you price.
not be used if the site has been altered or if more than two (2) years has elapsed since the date
- Plans were not provided in the text. The plan sheets (quantities, limits, details) are a separate large file that was not read, so scope and quantities should be checked against the plans on SAM.gov.
- Offer guarantee wording is unclear. The SF-1442 check boxes for offer guarantee did not come through in the text, while the Notice to Bidders says a bid guarantee is required, so confirm the bond amount with the contracting office.
BID BOND AMOUNT: See RFO Provision 52.228-1 Bid Guarantee
- Remote refuge site. The work is inside a wildlife refuge in South Texas, so environmental limits, remote logistics and local aggregate supply may affect cost.
Read from the notice and 5 attachments. 1 not read in full.
- IFB 6982AF27B000006 - TX FW LGA 10(5) .pdf
- FP-24 Standard Specifications for Construction FHWA Federal Hwy Projects.pdf
- TX FW LGA 10(5) Aggregate Surfacing Recommendations.pdf
- 2026-08-20_Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition_Redacted.pdf
- TX FTFW LAAT 10(3)_Geotechnical Engineering Report Laguna NWR.pdf
- TX FW LGA 10(5) Plans_Print.pdf: too large
Full brief
What they want
- Full-depth reclamation (pulverize and re-mix the top 3 inches of old chip seal and gravel base) along 12.33 miles of road
- Place new aggregate surface course (about 7,500 to 11,500 tons depending on the alternate chosen) for a uniform road width
- Furnish and install 13 RubberForm brand-name rubber speed bumps with earth anchors, and 27 sign systems plus related signing
- Install an aluminum gate, bollards, a small concrete pad, and reset wheelstops
- Prepare and carry out a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP), erosion control and dust control watering
- Provide temporary traffic control, contractor quality control, testing, a construction schedule and a field office for the government
- Use the government's Masterworks system for daily reports and pay notes
- Contract type
- Sealed bid (IFB) construction contract awarded on a unit-price bid schedule (lump sum and unit-price pay items); firm award to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder
- Period of performance
- Must begin work within 10 calendar days after notice to proceed; the completion deadline is set in SCR Section 108.01 and is not shown in the text provided (the sole-source speed bump justification mentions a period ending in October 2027)
- Place of performance
- Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Cameron County (Los Fresnos), Texas, about 25 miles east of Harlingen
- Estimated value
- $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 (government price range)
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price among responsive, responsible bidders. Bids are judged on the Schedule A total price (which includes Alternate 2). The government may then add Alternate 1 or Alternate 3 if funds allow.
- Offers due
- 2:00 p.m. local time on 11/03/2026 (SAM.gov lists 2026-11-03T14:00:00-07:00); sealed bids are publicly opened at that time
- How to submit
- Printed sealed bid delivered to Doug Whitcomb, Contract Specialist, FHWA Central Federal Lands Division, 12300 W. Dakota Avenue, Lakewood, CO 80228. Electronic bids are not accepted. Bid changes may be sent by mail or email (cflcontracts@dot.gov) before the deadline.
What they'll judge offers on
- Price: total of Schedule A (includes Alternate 2)
- Responsiveness: bid must conform to the solicitation and price all alternates
- Responsibility of the bidder
What to include when you submit
- Original plus 1 copy of the bid in a sealed envelope marked with the bidder name and address, solicitation number 6982AF27B000006, project number and the date and time due
- Include SF-1442 (pages A-1 and A-2), the partnering election (A-5), the Bid Schedule (A-6 to A-8), the Authority to Bind certificate that fits your business type (A-9 to A-13), and Buy American and Hazardous Materials pages (A-14 to A-15)
- Include the bid guarantee (bid bond) with original signatures and corporate seals; copies and faxes make the bid non-responsive
- Include the VETS-4212 declaration (page A-iii) and Bidders' Information (pages B-5 to B-8)
- Price Schedule A (which includes Alternate 2) AND Alternates 1 and 3; missing alternate prices can make the bid non-responsive
- Unit price controls if it does not match the extended amount
- Acknowledge every amendment in Item 19 of the SF-1442 before the deadline
- Written technical questions go to CFLContracts@dot.gov as one Word document by 4 P.M. on October 26, 2026
- Virtual pre-bid conference October 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM MDT (encouraged, not required)
- Offers must stay open for at least 60 calendar days after the due date
You must have
- Small business set-aside: only small businesses may bid. Size standard is $45 million average annual receipts over 5 years under NAICS 237310.
SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE
- Active SAM.gov registration at bid submission and at award, with current representations and certifications and NAICS 237310 in the profile
Offerors or quoters are required to have an active Federal
- Bid guarantee (bid bond) with original signature and corporate seal submitted with the bid
Bid bonds must be originals and have original signatures and corporate seals.
- Performance and payment bonds must be furnished within 10 calendar days after award
PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS: See RFO Clause 52.228-15
- Stormwater staff with stated training and experience: a SWPPP Developer (40 hours training, 5 years experience, state registration or certification), an Erosion Control Supervisor and an On-Site Stormwater Lead
Provide a SWPPP Developer, Erosion Control Supervisor, and On-Site
- Insurance as required by FP-24 Subsection 107.05
Insurance requirements - See Subsection 107.05 of the FP-24.
- Use the government's Masterworks system and attend its training; submit a user account form
The Contractor shall be required to attend a training session on the use of Masterworks.
- Federal construction wage rates (Department of Labor wage determination) apply; the rate table itself was not in the text provided
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, CONSTRUCTION WAGE RATE REQUIREMENT RATES.
Not in the notice text
- Completion deadline in calendar days (SCR Section 108.01 was not in the text read)
- Bid bond amount (refers to RFO 52.228-1 and FP-24 Subsection 102.03, not stated)
- Davis-Bacon wage rates and other contents of the omitted middle of the IFB (clauses, provisions, wage rate table)
- Plan sheets, which were too large to read
- Liquidated damages rate and any other clauses in the omitted part of the IFB
- Whether any amendments have been issued after October 1, 2026 (amendments are posted on SAM.gov)
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Key facts
- Response due
- Nov 3, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 9, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 6982AF27B000006
- Agency
- Department of Transportation · Federal Highway Administration
- Office
- 6982AF Central Federal Lands Divisi
- Set-aside
- Small Business Set Aside - Total
- NAICS
- 237310
- Product/service code
- Y1LB
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Place of performance
- Los Fresnos, TX, 78566
- Contracting contact
- Douglas Whitcombcflacquisitions@dot.gov
- Versions
- 2 (amended since first posted)
What similar contracts paid
18 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code, in the same state, had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov.
Typical contract$2.8MMiddle half: $1.5M to $7.4M
Typical per year$4.5MValue divided by years of performance
Possible incumbent's contract endsSep 2026A similar contract in this state, ending near when this one starts
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
PROJECT NUMBER: TX FW LGA 10(5) PROJECT NAME: Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The proposed project is in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron County, Texas approximately 25 miles east of Harlingen, Texas. The existing terrain is flat. SCOPE OF THE WORK: The proposed project includes full depth reclamation of existing driving surface which includes chip seal material, and existing gravel. After completing full-depth reclamation new aggregate surface course will be added to create a driving surface that has a consistent width. The project also includes installation of aluminum gate and a small concrete pad and safety improvement signs and speed bumps. The project includes three (3) alternate bid items for Aggregate Surface Course (TON) with one (1) being awarded. Alternate 1: 2-inches of aggregate surface course added to Bayside Drive and Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive and terminating at Renee’s Overlook Parking Area. Alternate 2: 2-inches of aggregate surface course added to Bayside Drive and Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive. Alternate 3: 3-inches of aggregate surface course added to Bayside Drive and Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive and terminating at Renee’s Overlook Parking Area.
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