Boston Harbor Improvement Dredging

The intent is for USACE to present Draft Plans and Specifications for industry review. USACE seeks feedback from a contractor perspective towards clarity and input of the plans and specifications. ****THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT**** This is a Special Notice and is for planning purposes only as defined by FAR 15.201. This is not a solicitation announcement, nor is it an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Quote (RFQ). No solicitation is currently published. Responses by any party do not obligate the Government to make any contract award. The Government will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. The Government is not responsible for any costs associated with: reviewing the Draft Documents, preparing and submitting comments, or any other efforts. Furthermore, the Government is not obligated to compensate respondents for any information received, even if the Draft Documents are revised as a result of a respondent's comment or question. Respondents should refrain from providing proprietary information, since any information acquired by the Government in this forum will not be treated as proprietary. The information gathered will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. Replies to responses, comments, or suggestions will not be provided or published. ****THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT**** Description: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing this Sources Sought Announcement for improvement dredging of the Boston Harbor Federal Navigation Project in Boston, MA. The dredging is to accommodate larger container ships that are calling on the US east coast now that the Panama Canal improvements are completed. This announcement is to determine interest, availability and capability of HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Small Business concerns for this project and to request comment from ALL potential bidders on the appropriateness of the proposed Definitive Responsibility Criteria addressed below. The project is planned to be solicited on or about October 2017. The work is expected to take approximately three years given the amount of dredging needed to remove all of the material to deepen the project to its newly authorized depths. The estimated construction cost is between $100,000,000 to $250,000,000. This project may be incrementally funded; funds may not be available at the inception of this contract to cover the entire contract price. The resulting contract may include 5152.232-9001, Special Continuing Contract for Civil Works Project Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Deviation) or its Alternate 1. If Alternate 1 is included, DFARS 252.232-7007 Limitation of Government's Obligation will also be included. 1. Project Description: This project consists of dredging approximately 11,700,000 cubic yards (cy) of silt, blue clay, till and weathered rock to improve the following components of the Federal Navigation Project for Boston Harbor: deepening and widening the Broad Sound North Channel to -51 feet Mean Lower, Low Water (MLLW), deepening and widening the Main Ship Channel (MSC) to the Conley Terminal including the turning basin or "MSC Notch" to -47 feet MLLW, deepening the President Roads Anchorage and deepening the lower Reserved Channel to -47 feet MLLW. The improvement depths noted above are required to be an additional two feet deep in areas of hard material like till and weathered rock. The material dredged to create the federal navigation project improvements will be placed at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site (MBDS) approximately 20 miles offshore of Boston Harbor with the exception of a small fraction of the material being placed as a cap to the Main Ship Channel Confined Aquatic Disposal cell that will be completed in December 2017, just downstream of the inner confluence of the Chelsea and Mystic Rivers. Fast rock is defined as rock having a compressional wave velocity greater than 2,700m/s and will not be removed as part of this contract as no blasting will be permitted. The contractor will be required to bring equipment to accomplish all dredging by mechanical means for the material types previously noted with strength characteristics less than fast rock. Interested firms should submit a capabilities package to include the following: business classification (i.e. HUBZone, small business, etc.), a proof of bonding as well as what type of equipment would be utilized for this project. Additionally, the Government contemplates inclusion of Definitive Responsibility Criteria similar to the below in the resulting solicitation. The Government welcomes industry comments on whether the below criteria are appropriate and achievable. Interested firms should demonstrate their project experience, within the last ten years, in the following requirements: Dredging by mechanical means a minimum of 350,000 cubic yards in one consecutive 30-day period. Experience in dredging hard material with strength characteristics less than fast rock such as till or weathered rock to depths of at least 50'with mechanical equipment. Note that the depth of this requirement may be lessened if the contractor can clearly demonstrate the equipment used to mechanically remove the hard material at a shallower depth is capable of digging to depths of 50' MLLW. Experience with mechanical dredging in coastal waters up to 50 feet deep. Experience in placement of dredged material at an ocean placement site. Comments are due by 8/25/2017, and should be submitted to the contract specialist via email at contact@example.gov. The Government will not pay for any material provided in response to this special notice, nor return the data provided. This notice is for information purposes only and is not a request to be placed on a solicitation mailing list nor is it a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an announcement of a solicitation. ****THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT**** Government Agency URL: www.nae.usace.army.mil Government Agency URL Description: New England District, Corps of Engineers