FY 20 Soo Lock Upstream Channel Deepening Industry Feedback Sessions

New Soo Lock Upstream Channel Deepening Description: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District, is conducting Industry Feedback Sessions on 5, 6, 9, 11, and 12 September 2019 with regards to the blasting specification for the New Soo Lock Upstream Chanel Deepening project. These will be individual sessions either over the phone or in person at the USACE Detroit District Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan at the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building. Industry is invited to schedule up to one (1) two hour private session on any of the above listed days between the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm EST. USACE is seeking feedback from industry on the following topics and any other topics that industry would like to discuss: 1. Do you foresee the EM 385-1-1 restriction on not being allowed to drill within 8 feet of a loaded hole as problematic? If it is, how do we avoid/minimize the impact? 2. Would a separate bid item for the areas with only bedrock removal (e.g. no overburden anticipated) help to reduce cost risk? 3. Do you foresee an issue with meeting the contract requirements for allowable ground vibration, overbreak, and underwater impulse pressures? 4. What are the perceived risks involved with this work (drilling/blasting/deepening)? Weather? Production? Blasting? Mobilization? Explosives Management? Industry is also invited to send comments, questions, and concerns regarding the design to the following email addresses: contact@example.gov and Jessica Baker at contact@example.gov even if they are unable to schedule a private feedback session. It is requested that all comments be submitted no later than 12:00pm EST on 13 September 2019. 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. Participation by any party does not obligate the Government in 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 towards participation in this conference. 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 in the course of the conference, 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. The scope of the project includes deepening of the upstream approach to the locks in the north canal at the Soo Locks complex. The channel will be deepened to 29 feet below Low Water Datum plus 1 foot of required overdepth and 1 foot of allowable overdepth. The removal of both bedrock and overburden material will be required. The contractor will have a choice in whether mechanical scrapping or blasting is used to remove the bedrock. The blasting of material will require monitoring to make sure nearby structures such as the lock walls, highway and railroad bridges are not affected. It's estimated that the amount of material to be removed is 300,000CY. Material will be taken by the contractor to an upland disposal site directly adjacent to the work area. Access to the deepening site is limited and it is mainly accessible by water. Please note that this contract will be advertised as an Invitation for Bid and will NOT include Definitive Response Criteria. This project has unique health/safety requirements that include the use of load handling equipment that makes this a high hazard activity. The estimated performance period for this contract is 22 months. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code applicable to this acquisition is 237990, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction. Small Business size is $36.5M. The magnitude of this project is between $25,000,000 and $100,000,000 The following information is provided in this Special Notice: Event: Industry Feedback Sessions Date: 5, 6, 9, 11, and 12 September 2019. Time: As scheduled between the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm EST Location: 477 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48226 QUESTIONS: Questions/Comments on draft documents may be submitted to contact@example.gov and Jessica Baker at contact@example.gov until 12:00pm EST on 13 September 2019 however, questions will not be posted publicly to FBO and the Government will not be answering questions that are submitted. The questions/comments will be taken into consideration when developing the final solicitation documents. ***ATTENTION*** NEW SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM) REGISTRATION PROCESS: IMPORTANT NOTICE: Effective June 29, 2018 vendors creating or updating their registration can have their registration activated prior to the approval of the required notarized letter. However, the signed copy of the notarized letter must be sent to the GSA Federal Service Desk (FSD) within 30 days of activation or the vendor risks no longer being active in SAM. Vendors can check whether an account is active by performing a query by their CAGE or Unique Entity Identifier (known as DUNS). The new registration process may now take several weeks, so vendors are highly encouraged to begin registering as soon as possible to avoid any possible delays in future contract awards. Remember, there is no cost to use SAM. To find out additional information about the changes of the SAM registration process, contractors should visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) link located at the top of the SAM homepage (www.sam.gov).