nd.gov - The Official Portal for North Dakota State Government
North Dakota: Legendary. Follow the trail of legends
Department of Transportation
North Dakota
 

 


Bidding Requirements and Conditions


North Dakota Transporation General Information and Rules on how to Bid

Prequalification of Bidders

In accordance with the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, Section 102, a bidder must be prequalified by the Department in order to be eligible to submit bids, except when this provision is specifically waived by the contract provisions.

Prequalification is required annually. Prequalified contractors who wish to renew their prequalification must submit a complete "Contractor's Prequalification Statement" by July 1 of each calendar year. The NDDOT may grant an extension, not exceeding 60 days, when requested for valid reason. Contractors who are not currently prequalified must submit a complete "Contractor's Prequalification Statement" at least seven (7) days prior to the date of a scheduled bid opening on which they desire to submit bids. This form must be completed in ink or typed. Mistakes should have one line drawn through them and initialed. This statement must be signed by Owner; Partner; Corp. Pres.; Vice Pres., or other authorized Corp. Officer and notarized. (If signed by other authorized Corp. Officer, please attach copy of Power of Attorney or other documentation showing authority to sign.)

Information submitted to request an increase bidding capacity prior to a scheduled bid opening must be received by the department a minimum of 24 hours prior to the closing time specified for issuance of proposals for bidding.

Contractors may become prequalified to bid additional types of work by submitting information certifying the availability of, or arrangements to obtain, equipment and experienced supervisory personnel necessary for the performance of the additional types of work for which prequalification is sought. This information must be received by the Department a minimum of 24 hours prior to the closing time specified for issuance of proposals for bidding.

To request a "Contractor's Prequalification Statement" booklet, please contact:

North Dakota Department of Transportation
Construction Services Division
608 East Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58505-0700
Phone: 701-328-2563
Fax: 701-328-4928

Contractor's License Requirements

A bidder is not required to obtain a North Dakota contractor's license prior to submitting a bid on a North Dakota Department of Transportation project. (N.D.C.C. Section 43-07-12) However, the successful bidder must, after the notice of award and prior to the execution of the contract, have obtained the appropriate North Dakota contractor's license to include compliance with Workforce Safety and Insurance. The renewal application for a contractor's license must be submitted to the Secretary of State's office on or before Friday, March 1 (envelopes must be postmarked on or before the due date). On that date, contractor's license will automatically expire and unless you have been issued a license for that year, you will be prohibited by law from contracting for any work over $2,000 in value.

Foreign (out-of-state) corporations: In accordance with N.D.C.C. Section 10-22-01, award of contract will not be made to a foreign corporation until they have obtained a Certificate of Authority to transact business in the state of North Dakota. Application for the Certificate of Authority is made by filing a notice of intent to do business in North Dakota with the Secretary of State.

For more information contact:

Office of the Secretary of State
Workforce Safety and Insurance

Identify and Select Projects

For additional information:

Call the Construction Division at (701)328-2566 or email lpeterso@nd.gov.

Purchase Plans and Proposals

To order plans and proposals from the NDDOT website, your company must be registered with the NDDOT. If your company is not registered, you can still access the website, search for projects, search for specific bid items and even create a shopping cart; however, you will not be able to place an order. Registration requests may take up to one business day for the NDDOT to complete. For registration information, go to Register to Order Plans and Proposals. Follow the instructions to complete the registration process. You will receive a confirmation email informing you when you have successfully registered.

A fee of $8.00 will be charged for each proposal form requested. A fee of $6.50 for each plan plus $.05 (cents) per printed page will be charged for all plans. Contractors and Suppliers will be required to pay for plans and proposals before the orders are mailed, whether they are placed electronically, telephoned, mailed, faxed, or walk-ins. Acceptable credit cards are Discover, Mastercard, and Visa. Proposal forms are available until 10:00 AM CT the day preceding the bid opening.

Proposals issued for information purposes, available to all interested parties, will be marked "NOT FOR BIDDING PURPOSES" and will not be accepted as a bid from any company.

The plan holders list will be posted on Bid Opening Reports under the selection "Plan Holders List". Use the dropdown to select the bid opening date you are interested in. If the information you are looking for is not in the list, then it is not available at that time. Please check back at a later time.

Bid Preparation

Preparing the Proposal for Bidding:

(1) Obtain bidding proposals as specified in Section 102 of the Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction. Submit bidding proposals using one of the following methods:

Electronic bid on the internet using Bid Express.
Electronic bid on a diskette with accompanying printout.
Paper bid. (Starting in July 2005 a check/money order of $30.00 per proposal will be required to be submitted with each paper bid.)

(2) Bids submitted on a printout with accompanying diskette or paper bids will govern over bids submitted on the internet.

(3) The Department will provide bidding information through the Bid Express on-line bidding service at Bid Express and through the Department's website. The Department will also post notice of all addenda to each proposal on each web site no later than 4:00 PM CT two days before the bid opening. Check Bid Express after 5:00 PM CT two days before the bid opening to ensure that all addenda files have been downloaded before submitting the final bid.

(4) Interested parties can subscribe to the Bid Express on-line bidding service using one of the two following methods:

Following the instructions provided at the Bid Express website
By emailing BidX Customer Support

Submitting Bids On the Internet

(1) Do the following before submitting the bid:

Have a properly executed annual bid bond on file with the Department.
Have a valid and active subscription to Bid Express. Using this digital ID will constitute the bidder's signature for proper execution of the bidding proposal.

(2) In lieu of preparing, delivering, and submitting the proposal as specified in Section 102 of the standard specifications, submit the proposal on the internet as follows:

Download the schedule of items, all addenda, and DBE_nd.bin files from the Bid Express web site.
Use Expedite software to enter a unit price for every item in the schedule of items.
Submit the bid according to the requirements of the Expedite software and the Bid Express web site. Do not submit a bid on a printout with accompanying diskette or a paper bid. If the bidder does submit a bid on a printout with accompanying diskette or a paper bid in addition to the internet submittal, the department will disregard the internet bid.
Submit the bid before the time and date the Notice to Bidders designates.
Do not sign, notarize, and return the bidding proposal described in Section 102.07 of the standard specifications.

(3) The department will not consider the bid accepted until the time and date the Notice to Bidders designates.

On a Printout with Accompanying Diskette/CD:

(1) Have a properly executed blanket bid bond on file with the department, or an individual bid bond or certified check accompanying the proposal.

(2) Download the schedule of items, DBE_nd.bin, and all addenda from the North Dakota pages of the Bid Express web site or from Bid Opening Information. Use the Expedite software to prepare and print the schedule of items. Provide a valid amount for all price fields. Follow instructions and review the help screens provided on the Bid Express web site to assure that the schedule of items is prepared properly.

(3) Staple an 8 1/2 by 11 inch printout of the Expedite generated schedule of items to the other proposal documents submitted to the department as a part of the bidder's sealed bid. As a separate submittal not in the sealed bid envelope and due at the same time and place as the sealed bid, also provide the Expedite generated schedule of items on a 3 1/2 inch computer diskette/cd. Label each diskette/cd with the bidder's name, the department-assigned bidder identification code, and a list of the proposal numbers included on that diskette/cd as indicated in the following example:

Bidder Name
Bidder ID
Proposals: 1,12,14,16,& 22

(4) If bidding on more than one proposal in the Bid Opening, the bidder may include all proposals for that letting on one diskette/cd. Include only submitted proposals with no incomplete or other files on the diskette/cd.

(5) The bidder-submitted printout of the Expedite generated schedule of items is the governing contract document and must conform to the requirements of Section 102 of the standard specifications. If a printout needs to be altered, cross out the printed information with ink or typewriter and enter the new information and initial it in ink. If there is a discrepancy between the printout and the diskette/cd, the department will analyze the bid using the printout information.

(6) In addition to the reasons specified in Section 102.08 of the standard specifications, proposals are irregular and the department may reject them for one or more of the following:

The check code printed on the bottom of the printout of the Expedite generated schedule of items is not the same on each page.
The check code printed on the printout of the Expedite generated schedule of items is not the same as the check code for that proposal provided on the diskette/cd.
The diskette is not submitted at the time and place the department designates.

Paper Bids

(1) The bidder must have a properly executed blanket bid bond on file with the department, or an individual bid bond or certified check accompanying the proposal when bidding.

(2) Submit a schedule of items on paper conforming to Section 102.07 of the standard specifications. Starting in July 2005 the department will charge the bidder a $30 administrative fee per proposal, payable at the time and place the department designates for receiving bids, to cover the costs of data entry and processing. The department will accept a check or money order payable to: "North Dakota Dept. of Transportation". Mailed in bids will be accepted. Bidders who mail in their bids shall include the check or money order with their bid.

(3) In addition to the reasons specified in Section 102.08 of the standard specifications, proposals are irregular and the department may reject them for the following:

The bidder fails to pay the $30 administrative fee with their paper bid before the time the department designates for the opening of bids.

Delivery of Bidding Proposals

The North Dakota Department of Transportation will receive bids for the construction project(s) listed on our web site page www.state.nd.us/dot at the time and place the department designates.

Bid Express

To Create a Digital ID

Ensure that you are authorized to legally submit a bid for your company.
Establish a valid Bid Express account with Bidx.com. A valid Bid Express account must be in effect for your digital ID Certificate to be accepted. Instructions for obtaining a Bid Express account may be found at Bidx.
To create a Digital ID, you must be connected to the Internet. This is necessary to submit your Digital ID.
Go to Expedite Bid, select Tools, Digital ID's and then follow the Digital ID Wizard to create and submit your Digital ID.
You will be asked to type in a name. This should be the name of someone who is authorized to sign bids for your company.
You will be asked to enter a password. This password will only be known to you. It is required each time you use your Digital ID. Bid Express cannot provide you with this password if you forget it, so you should write it down. It should be a least five (5) characters long.
You will be asked to move your mouse around in order to actually create the Digital ID.
In order for the process to complete, you must complete the process through the "Finish" button. If successful, your Digital ID is now created. Your Digital ID certificate paperwork should print out. You must complete and submit the form to enable your Digital ID.

Submitting Digital ID Certificate Paperwork

Fill out the "Digital ID Applicant Information" and "Billing Information" forms.

If your firm is a corporation, have the corporate secretary apply the corporate seal to the "Signature Certification for Corporations" form.
Sign the appropriate "Signature Certification" form in the presence of a Notary Public and have it notarized. By signing the form, you acknowledge that you have read the Bid Express Subscriber Agreement at Bidx and agree to abide by its terms.
Photocopy the completed "Digital ID Certificate" form and store it in a safe place. Mail the original completed form (faxes are not accepted) along with a check for $100.00 (if not paying by credit card or charging to your Bidx account) to the following address:

Bidx.com
Attn: Bid Express Administration
5700 SW 34th St., Suite 1235
Gainesville, FL 32608-5371

Bidx.com will enable your Digital ID within three (3) business days of receipt of your completed, notarized form and check (if applicable).
Once your Digital ID has been enabled, you may submit bids via the Internet to the Agency (NDDOT) indicated on the "Digital ID Certificate" form. You must have a separate Digital ID for each agency you submit bids for.

Back up your Digital ID and put it in a secure place by doing the following:

Insert a floppy disk into your A: drive
From Expedite Bid, select "Tools" then click on "Digital ID's"
Select the "Export ID Button" and follow the instructions in the File Save Dialog Box to save your Digital ID file (file with .asc extension) to a floppy disk/cd.
Your Digital ID cannot be replaced or recovered if you lose the ebskey.asc file. Therefore, store the floppy disk/cd containing the ebskey.asc file in a secure place like a safe, safe deposit box, or other secure place.

(Optional) For backup purposes, you can have your Digital ID on more that one PC:

• Copy your Digital ID to another PC by doing the following:

• Take the floppy disk containing your Digital ID file (file with asc extension) and place it in the floppy drive of a PC in which you want to import the ID.
• From Expedite Bid, select “Tools” click on “Digital ID's” from the menu.
• Select the “Import ID Button” and follow the instructions in the File Save Dialog Box.

Download your proposals from Bidx by doing the following:

• Go to the Bid Express web site for North Dakota at www.bidx.com
• Select the proposal(s) that you will be submitting an Internet bid for.
• Select the “Expedite Data File” for each proposal and save it to your PC or disk.

>Prepare your Internet Bid by doing the following:

• Open the “Expedite Data File” in Expedite 5.6b
• Enter proposal bid prices.
• Provide required information and certifications.
• Check and save your proposal file.

Submit your Internet Bid by doing the following:

• Establish a connection to the Internet using your Internet Service Provider if not already connected.
• With the completed EBS file open in Expedite Bid, select “Tools”, click on “Bid Submission” to bring up the Bid Submission Wizard.
• Follow the Wizard instructions. It will ask you for the password to your Digital ID. Your bid will be electronically submitted to Bid Express and a Bid Submission Receipt will automatically be printed. The printed receipt is verification that the Bid Express server received the contractors' bid.

Bid Withdrawal:

• Select “Tools”, click on “View Submitted Bids” to bring up the Bid Withdraw Wizard. It will ask you for the password to your Digital ID.
• Select and withdraw any Proposal you submitted by following the Wizard instructions. A Bid Withdrawal Receipt will be printed out.
• You may submit and withdraw as many times as you like. When you have finished, make sure all Internet Bid files have been resubmitted. You can check to see that all bid files have been submitted by using “View Submitted Bids” from the “Tools” menu.