(a) No work shall be undertaken on any Federal-aid project, nor shall any project be advertised for bids, prior to authorization by the Division Administrator.
(b) The advertisement and approved plans and specifications shall be available to bidders a minimum of 3 weeks prior to opening of bids except that shorter periods may be approved by the Division Administrator in special cases when justified.
(c) The State DOT shall obtain the approval of the Division Administrator prior to issuing any addenda which contain a major change to the approved plans or specifications during the advertising period. Minor addenda need not receive prior approval but should be identified by the State DOT at the time of or prior to requesting FHWA concurrence in award. The State DOT shall provide assurance that all bidders have received all issued addenda.
(d) Nondiscriminatory bidding procedures shall be afforded to all qualified bidders regardless of National, State or local boundaries and without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap. If any provisions of State laws, specifications, regulations, or policies may operate in any manner contrary to Federal requirements, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to prevent submission of a bid, or prohibit consideration of a bid submitted by any responsible bidder appropriately qualified in accordance with § 635.110, such provisions shall not be applicable to Federal-aid projects. Where such nonapplicable provisions exist, notices of advertising, specifications, special provisions or other governing documents shall include a positive statement to advise prospective bidders of those provisions that are not applicable.
(e) Except in the case of a concession agreement, as defined in section 710.703 of this title, no public agency shall be permitted to bid in competition or to enter into subcontracts with private contractors.
(f) The State DOT shall include a noncollusion provision substantially as follows in the bidding documents:
Each bidder shall file a statement executed by, or on behalf of the person, firm, association, or corporation submitting the bid certifying that such person, firm, association, or corporation has not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement, participated in any collusion, or otherwise taken any action, in restraint of free competitive bidding in connection with the submitted bid. Failure to submit the executed statement as part of the bidding documents will make the bid nonresponsive and not eligible for award consideration.
(1) The required form for the statement will be provided by the State to each prospective bidder.
(2) The statement shall either be in the form of an affidavit executed and sworn to by the bidder before a person who is authorized by the laws of the State to administer oaths or in the form of an unsworn declaration executed under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States.
(g) The State DOT shall include the lobbying certification requirement pursuant to 49 CFR part 20 and the requirements of 2 CFR parts 180 and 1200 regarding suspension and debarment certification in the bidding documents.
(h) The State DOT shall clearly identify in the bidding documents those requirements which the bidder must assure are complied with to make the bid responsive. Failure to comply with these identified bidding requirements shall make the bid nonresponsive and not eligible for award consideration.
(i) In the case of a design-build project, the following requirements apply:
(1) When a Request for Proposals document is issued after the NEPA process is complete, the FHWA Division Administrator's approval of the Request for Proposals document will constitute the FHWA's project authorization and the FHWA's approval of the State DOT's request to release the document. This approval will carry the same significance as plan, specification and estimate approval on a design-bid-build Federal-aid project.
(2) Where a Request for Proposals document is issued prior to the completion of the NEPA process, the FHWA's approval of the document will only constitute the FHWA's approval of the State DOT's request to release the document.
(3) The State DOT may decide the appropriate solicitation schedule for all design-build requests. This includes all project advertising, the release of the Request for Qualifications document, the release of the Request for Proposals document and all deadlines for the receipt of qualification statements and proposals. Typical advertising periods range from six to ten weeks and can be longer for large, complicated projects.
(4) The State DOT must obtain the approval of the Division Administrator prior to issuing addenda which result in major changes to the Request for Proposals document. Minor addenda need not receive prior approval but may be identified by the State DOT at the time of or prior to requesting the FHWA's concurrence in award. The State DOT must provide assurance that all offerors have received all issued addenda.
(j) In the case of a CM/GC project, the FHWA Division Administrator's approval of the solicitation document will constitute the FHWA's approval to use the CM/GC contracting method and approval to release the solicitation document. The State DOT must obtain the approval of the FHWA Division Administrator before issuing addenda which result in major changes to the solicitation document.
(k) In the case of an ID/IQ project, the FHWA Division Administrator's approval of the solicitation document will constitute FHWA's approval to use the ID/IQ contracting method and approval to release the solicitation document. The State DOT must obtain the approval of the FHWA Division Administrator before issuing addenda which result in major changes to the solicitation document.
[56 FR 37004, Aug. 2, 1991, as amended at 67 FR 75925, Dec. 10, 2002; 72 FR 45336, Aug. 14, 2007; 73 FR 77502, Dec. 19, 2008; 81 FR 86943, Dec. 2, 2016; 85 FR 72932, Nov. 16, 2020]