NEW JERSEY TRANSIT CORPORATION NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS Gladstone Line Pole Foundations Project INVITATION FOR BID NO. 13-071X Notice is hereby given that this is an electronic bid submission. Electronic bids will be received via the Internet until 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, July 10, 2014, by NJ TRANSIT for the Gladstone Line Pole Foundations Replacement Project. Bids for the project will be downloaded from the Bid Express website on the scheduled Bid Due Date (subject to change by Addenda) at 2:00:00 P.M., and publicly opened and read immediately thereafter at NJ TRANSIT’s offices located at One Penn Plaza East, 6th floor Bid Room, Newark, NJ 07105. The Bidder must upload its bid prior to the hour named so that it is included in the project download. Late bids cannot be accepted. This is the only way to submit a bid for this project; paper bids will not be accepted. The work under this Invitation for Bids generally consists of, but is not limited to, The general construction necessary to install one hundred sixty three (163) new concrete foundations and steel poles between New Providence Station and Gladstone Rail Yard on NJ TRANSIT’s Gladstone Branch. In addition, the fabrication and installation/erection of new steel catenary poles will be required to support the existing overhead catenary system (OCS) and ancillary lines. The project involves civil work, site work, and concrete foundations as outlined in the Contract Documents. All work is to be conducted by means of high-rail equipment. All work must be in strict conformance with the drawings and specifications provided in the Bid Documents. In order to obtain all pertinent Bid Documents, interested firms must register with BID EXPRESS at https://www.bidx.com. Contractors that are currently registered with BID EXPRESS to bid NJDOT or any other public construction project do not require further registration, only an additional digital ID. To subscribe, follow instructions on the website. Fees apply to downloading documents and plans and bidding access. The fee schedule is available on the Bid Express website. All fees are directly payable to Bid Express. In order to submit a bid, NJ TRANSIT recommends that Contractors apply for a digital ID at least seven business days prior to the Bid Due Date. All firms must be prequalified by NJ TRANSIT prior to submitting a bid. Contractors must be prequalified for an amount of work that is equal to or greater than their bid amount. Contractors must be prequalified for “Heavy Construction-Rail “HR” (Operating Railroad Environment) with a classification of “GC”- General Contractor or a subcategory classification of “ET”-Catenary /Electrification Contractor, for an amount equal to or exceeding their bid amount. NJTRANSIT suggests a minimum rating of “O” $10,000,001 to $15,000,000. Prequalification questionnaires are available for download from the Bid Express website www.bidx.com. Completed prequalification forms MUST be submitted to NJTRANSIT's Bid Desk at least fourteen (14) days prior to the scheduled bid opening date but NJ TRANSIT encourages Prequalification Questionnaire submissions as early as possible. Late prequalification submissions MAY NOT be considered. A pre-bid conference has been scheduled for Wednesday, June18, 2014 at 10:00A.M., at New Jersey Transit’s Headquarters located at (intersection of Raymond Boulevard and Penn Plaza East), Sixth Floor Bid Room, Newark, New Jersey. There is no site tour scheduled for this project. Bidders are advised that attendance at both the pre-bid conference and site visit is strongly recommended. This project is subject to the requirements of the Public Works Contractor Registration Act (N.J.S.A. 34:56-48 et seq). Contractors and subcontractors are also required to comply with the State of New Jersey, Division of Revenue, Business Registration Certificate requirements (N.J.S.A. 52:32-44.). Bidders are required to comply with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 10:5-31et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27, regarding Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and Regulations. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, in accordance with the Department of Transportation (DOT) Regulations 49 CFR, Part 26, shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of this contract. The Race Conscious DBE goal for this project has been set at twenty percent (20%). All bids, proposals, contracts, laws and related documentation will be subject to the financial assistance contract between the project sponsor and the U.S. Department of Transportation, under the Federal Transit Act of 1964, as amended, based upon availability of funds. In accordance with N.J.S.A. 27:25-11(b)(3) and N.J.A.C. 16:72-2.2 bidders are notified that a bid bond in the amount of 10% of the bid price is required with their bids. New Jersey Transit Corporation Instructions To Bidders For Construction Table of Contents A. ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS ..................................................................... 1 A.1 ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. 1 A.2 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................. 1 B. COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................................................... 1 B.1 OBTAINING BID DOCUMENTS ........................................................................... 1 B.2 INQUIRIES AND REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION ................................................. 1 B.3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT OF ADDENDA .................................................... 2 B.4 IMPROPER COMMUNICATIONS .......................................................................... 2 B.5 PRE-BID CONFERENCE ..................................................................................... 2 C. REGISTRATIONS, PREQUALIFICATION AND DBE CERTIFICATION ......................... 2 C.1 CORPORATE REGISTRATION ............................................................................. 2 C.2 PREQUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS ...................................................................... 3 C.3. DBE CERTIFICATION ........................................................................................ 4 C.4 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR REGISTRATION............................................................. 4 C.5 OWNERSHIP DISCLOSURE ................................................................................ 5 C.6 DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS (N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.27) ................... 5 C.7 BUSINESS REGISTRATION NOTICE .................................................................... 5 D. ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BIDDERS ............................................................... 6 D.1 CODE OF ETHICS FOR BIDDERS ........................................................................ 6 D.2 CERTIFICATION REGARDING DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION, INELIGIBILITY AND VOLUNTARY EXCLUSION – LOWER TIER COVERED TRANSACTION .......................... 6 D.3 STATE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION CERTIFICATION ........................................ 8 D.4 LIMITATIONS ON LOBBYING ............................................................................. 8 D.5 DISCLOSURE OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES IN IRAN ............................................. 9 i EBS MFC 1/15/2014 New Jersey Transit Corporation Instructions To Bidders For Construction Table of Contents E. BID PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION PROCEDURES ............................................. 9 E.1 EXAMINATION OF CONTRACT DOCUMENTS ......................................................... 9 E.2 BID FORM QUANTITIES .................................................................................... 9 E.3 PREPARATION OF THE BID .............................................................................. 10 E.4 DBE FORMS AND CERTIFICATION .................................................................... 10 E.5 BID GUARANTEE ........................................................................................... 11 E.6 BID VALIDITY ............................................................................................... 12 E.7 WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS .................................................................................. 12 E.8 SUBMISSION OF MULTIPLE BIDS ..................................................................... 12 E.9 SUBMISSION OF BIDS ................................................................................... 12 F. BID OPENING ..................................................................................................... 13 F.1 PUBLIC OPENING OF BIDS .............................................................................. 13 F.2 UNOPENED BIDS ........................................................................................... 13 F.3 CONDITIONALLY ACCEPTED ............................................................................ 13 G. IRREGULAR BIDS ............................................................................................... 13 G.1 IRREGULARITIES AND NON-CONFORMANCES .................................................... 13 G.2 RIGHT TO REJECT OR WAIVE .......................................................................... 14 H. AWARD AND EXECUTION OF CONTRACT ............................................................. 14 H.1 CALCULATION OF BIDS .................................................................................. 14 H.2 SINGLE BIDS ................................................................................................ 14 H.3 DETERMINATION