Plans, estimating proposals and notice to bidders
The Plans and Estimating Proposal page includes the notice to bidders, downloadable electronic plans and estimating proposals, and other letting-related information. Letting documents for the regular monthly lettings are available beginning the third Tuesday of the month prior to the letting.
Bidding and construction resources
It is the responsibility of the bidder to examine the site of work and contract documents for any proposal on which the contractor is bidding.
Standard specifications book and supplemental specifications
The Standard Specifications for Highway and Bridge Construction and Supplemental Specification contain requirements pertaining to the method and manner of performing work or the quantity and quality of materials to be furnished under the contract. The book and specifications can be viewed at Electronic Reference Library or ordered through the Iowa DOT’s Support Services Bureau at 515-239-1324.
Division 11 of the Standard Specifications contains many of the requirements for the bidding process.
Standard road plans
The Standard Road Plans Manual contains standard drawings that are not reproduced in the plan. The standards designated on the plan are used for the contract. This manual can be viewed at Electronic Reference Library or ordered through the Iowa DOT’s Support Services Bureau at 515-239-1324.
Materials Instructional Memorandums
The Iowa DOT's Materials Bureau Instructional Memorandums (IMs) contain specific information about procedures concerning the acceptance of materials. These memorandums can be viewed at Electronic Reference Library or ordered through the Iowa DOT’s Services Bureau at 515-239-1324.
Requesting eligibility to bid – joint ventures
A contractor may join with another contractor to request to bid a project as a joint venture. Each of the contractors must be prequalified with the Iowa DOT. The joint venture's bidding capacity will be the sum of each contractors' maximum qualification minus the sum of each contractors' uncompleted work under contract.
In a joint venture, a letter should be sent to the Iowa DOT's Contracts Bureau requesting the joint venture and designating one contractor as the lead contractor. All contract documents will be sent to the lead contractor. For joint ventures, both contractors must sign the bidding proposal and bid bond.
A new Bid Express Digital ID must be created for the joint venture. Both contractors must sign the Submission of Electronic Bids form before the Contracts Bureau will approve the digital ID.
Eligible bidder and plan holders lists
This information is posted in two lists on the Bid Express website. Contractors authorized to bid as a prime are included in the “Plan Holders” list and the “Eligible Bidder” column is marked “Yes.” A company is not eligible to bid as a prime contractor unless shown accordingly.
Subcontractors, suppliers and others may include themselves in the “Voluntary Plan Holders” list.
A company may access either list for all proposals in the letting. On the Bid Express website, select the letting of interest. In the “Also Available” box on the right side of the page, select “Plan Holders/Eligible Bidders.” The “Plan Holders” list, including eligible bidders, appears immediately above the “Voluntary Plan Holders” list.
A company may also access either list for a single proposal in the letting. On the Bid Express website, select the desired letting and then select the proposal of interest. In the “Also Available” box on the right side of the page, select “Plan Holders/Eligible Bidders.” The “Plan Holders” list, including eligible bidders, appears immediately above the “Voluntary Plan Holders” list.
Each list may be exported. At the right hand side of the page, just above each list, is a selection to “Export (csv)” or “Export (tab).” Make a selection and follow the instructions in the dialogue box.
To be included on the “Voluntary Plan Holders” list, add the company information through the Bid Express website. Select the desired letting and then select the proposal of interest. In the “Also Available” box on the right side of the page, select “Plan Holders/Eligible Bidders.” Scroll down to the top of the “Voluntary Plan Holders” list, choose the “Add” button on the left side of the page and enter the information in the dialogue box. Bid Express subscribers who login prior to accessing this function will have many of the data fields pre-populated with their company information.
Questions and addendums
When a proposal has been advertised for bid, all questions must be directed to the Contracts Bureau though the Q&A feature on the Bid Express website. To ask a question or view submitted Questions and Answers go to the individual proposal and click on ‘Questions and Answer’ in the ‘Also Available’ box.”
Between the time of advertisement and letting date, it is sometimes necessary to issue an addendum to correct or modify the contract documents. Addendums are posted on the Bid Express website. The contractor is responsible to check if any addendums have been issued for a proposal. The bid may not be read if all addendums issued have not been acknowledged.
A company may subscribe to receive an email notification of every addendum written. In addition, Bid Express offers addenda notification subscriptions through the Bid Express website.
Proposal Guarantee/ Bid Bond
With very few exceptions, a company must submit a proposal guaranty/bid bond with each bid as per Article 1102.11 of the Standard Specifications. The required amount of the proposal guaranty/bid bond is shown on the first page of each estimating proposal.
Bidders have TWO options to meet the proposal guaranty/bid bond requirements;
- Obtain an electronic bond using the electronic bid bond verification feature authorized by the department. The authorized vendors for this feature are listed below;
Tinubu Surety (F/K/A SuretyWave):
Email: supportba@tinubu.com
Phone: (818)-783-3460
Surety 2000:
Email: help@surety2000.com
Phone: (800) 660-3263
Other options as provided in Article 1102.11 of The Standard Specifications, or as provided elsewhere in the contract documents. A bidder may submit a certified check or credit union certified share draft, cashier's check, money order, or bank draft drawn on a solvent bank or credit union, TSB Bond Waiver, AND make sure theContracts Bureau has received your Proposal Guaranty/Bid Bond PRIOR to letting.
Submitting a bid
Only contractors authorized to bid a proposal may submit a bid for a contract.
ATTENTION:Beginning with the July 15, 2014 letting, the Contracts Bureau will no longer accept paper bids on any proposals.
Unless otherwise specified, bidders shall submit an electronic bid with digital signature using bidding software furnished by the Iowa DOT and electronic bid submittal procedures of the Iowa DOT. To do so, a company must use the software provided by the Iowa DOT and submit a bid through the Bid Express website. A company must submit a “Submission of Electronic Bids” form to the Iowa DOT’s Contracts Bureau. A digital ID will be required. The software, instructions for both how to obtain the digital ID and on the internet bidding process, are all available on the Bid Express website. The "Submission of Electronic Bids" form is part of the Contractor’s Financial Experience-Equipment Statement.
Bid openings
Bids are received until the bidding deadline as listed on the estimating proposal. After opening, all bids are reviewed for responsiveness prior to being read publically. The apparent bid results are posted on Bid Express beginning approximately a half-hour after the bid deadline. If the bid is incomplete or irregular, the bid is not read and the reason it is not read is listed on Bid Express under “Apparent Bids.” A letter is also sent to the contractor explaining why the bid was not read.
Award of contracts
The Iowa DOT's practice is to award a contract to the lowest responsive bidder within 30 days of the letting or reject all bids on the project. Contracts for state projects are normally sent to the contractor within one week of the letting. Contracts for city and county projects are sent to the appropriate local jurisdiction. The local agency makes the final award decision.
A contract bond is required as specified in Article 1103.05 of the
Subcontracting
Any work to be performed by subcontract must be authorized by the Department. View subcontracting request instructions.
Download the required SiteXchange software.
The total amount to be subcontracted cannot exceed 70 percent of the contract amount unless a different percentage is designated on the proposal (Article 1108.01 of the Standard Specifications).
Subcontractors are not required to complete the prequalification process, however, an approved equal employment opportunity (EEO)/affirmative action (AA) policy may be required as described under EEO/AA Policy requirements.
Contract administration
Negotiation is prohibited between the bid deadline and contract execution. After a contract is fully executed, any questions concerning contract administration should be directed to the assigned project engineer. The project engineer will be shown on the contract.
Construction Manual
This document provides guidance on administrative procedures during the construction phase. While not legally defined as a “contract document”, it provides a framework for industry and project engineers to successfully complete the construction process. This manual can be viewed at Electronic Reference Library or ordered through the Iowa DOT’s Support Services Bureau at 515-239-1324.
Summary of awarded contract prices
This information is now located in the “Downloads” on the Bid Express website for each letting.
Tabulation of bids for Iowa DOT contracts are usually available one week after the bid opening. Bid tabulations for non-Iowa DOT contracts are posted one month after the bid opening. This information can be found on the Bid Tabs page.
EEO/AA policy requirements
EEO/AA requirements apply to all prime contractors and subcontractors who have been awarded a subcontract equal to or exceeding $10,000.
Each contractor must have an EEO/AA policy approved by the Iowa DOT’s Employee Services Bureau prior to being awarded a contract. The EEO/AA policy must be reviewed by the company and resubmitted each year.
Learn more about EEO/AAA requirements on the DOT's Civil Rights website.