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The small business community, the local subcontractors and others would scream if this thing finally gets built and they get ZERO chance to participate. By the Government making it a multiple award task order type deal, then suppliers, vendors etc get to have a number of chances to participate in their particular locale.

Likewise, if the initial contracts are for 80 mile segments with an option of ten 12 Mile segments and awarded to seven contractors they have a possible coverage for the whole 1250 miles needed. Likewise, if they don’t like how some of the sections are designed, they tweak them back toward the RFP requirements or cancel that one task order and then have the one they like the best build double or triple what his segment was originally planned for the already bid and acceptable bid price. For the contractor economies of scale work to make it viable to do 160 additional miles for what 80 mies would have been done for on the Add-Alternate proposal.

Most people need to understand that there are only about 25 companies that can afford to bid this and start it. Typically you are upside down in your cash flow for about three months to the tune of 3 or 5 million bucks. Typically you or your junior partner JV firms have to have about 250 million in construction equipment readily available to put on site in a matter of weeks along with a team of about 30 design professionals of the various disciplines and a team of two dozen to four dozen field engineers, superintendents, project managers, CPM schedulers, Quality Control Engineers with government certified training and accountants and small business specialists all ready to go on a five day notice.

I spent the bulk of the last twenty years going to this dance — I not only have the tee shirt, I have the tux.

Oh, Safety Engineers. You have to have them out the wazzo sitting on the bench ready to go with certifications.

Typically the Government will require you to have the following items done to start a fast track project:
1. Approved Overall Safety Plan — Project Specific (not a 300 page canned manual)
2. A Preliminary Schedule SDEF cost loaded to bill against for Progress Payments.
3. A Small Business Plan — Project Specific
4. A list of subcontractors and vendors that meet the requirements of the RFP (no debarments etc)
5. The Phase One approved Plans and Specification (lets say for the reinforced foundations and deep storm drainage.
6. An approved QC Plan with staffing.
7. As part of the QC Plan an Approved Testing Laboratory with scheduled testing outlined for all critical elements of the project.
8. Addiitional mobilization and envirnmental impact plans and programs showing how you plan to:
.....a. Prevent Dust Polution
.....b. Provide planned Contractor and government offices, temporary parking and sanitation, roadway access, traffic control and environmental impact.
.....c. Small Business Outreach Plan to utilize disadvantage small business concerns and Job Fair outreach.
.....d Etc, Etc, Etc — rinse and repeat.

I’m listing this out off the top of my head so I might miss an item that is obvious. You will also in your safety plan be prepared for cross border snipers etcetera. This has been a typical concern in locations like this and around certain other areas where fire arm usage is typical.

“The small business community, the local subcontractors and others would scream if this thing finally gets built and they get ZERO chance to participate”

Sorry, but the scale is too big for small businesses to tackle this one. This is going to be one of the greatest construction projects in human history. Big boys’ dance.