Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Purpose: The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS or Corporation) is seeking sources for small businesses qualified to design and build the diffuser structures which are geomet... Purpose: The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS or Corporation) is seeking sources for small businesses qualified to design and build the diffuser structures which are geometrically complex reinforced concrete hydraulic structures at Snell Lock. Background: The GLS is a wholly owned U.S. Government Corporation within the U.S. Department of Transportation which owns and operates that portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway (Seaway) in U.S. territorial waters between Lake Ontario and Montreal, Canada, including two navigation locks: Eisenhower and Snell Locks. The Corporation’s mission is to facilitate the safe and efficient passage of commercial vessels through the Seaway, which includes maintenance, repair and/or replacement of structures and facilities. The GLS will solicit the project requirements in a two-step design-build solicitation. First-step is to identify capable firms interested in the subject work and to obtain technical proposals with concept designs these firms will use for the completions of this work. The GLS will evaluate the submissions, select firms deemed qualified for the work, and issue the solicitation for the second-step to these firms. The second-step solicitation will be a Request for Proposal (RFP) requesting technical and cost proposals to complete the project scope. Project Scope: The GLS plans to replace six (6) concrete diffusers (water manifolds) below the downstream sill at Snell Lock over two winter seasons. The base contract would be for three of the diffusers in the first year and the other three diffusers in the second year. The diffusers reduce downstream turbulence from the release of lock chamber water. Each diffuser comprises of about 190 cubic yards of reinforced concrete and is about 80-feet long by 14 feet maximum width by 13-feet high and has sixteen (16) openings that are each about 2-feet wide by 11’-6” high. The diffusers’ width tapers over the length of the structure. The openings are arranged so that there are eight (8) opposing openings on each side. The openings create several surfaces of reinforced concrete with sharp corners and bending radii. The attached drawings, SLS 327-C-20/25 and SLS 327-C-20/26, give reference of the existing as-built diffuser structures. The rebuilt diffusers require a design to anchor them into the existing adjacent concrete structure. Over the years, these diffusers have deteriorated to the point where replacement is required. Because the diffusers are normally submerged in about 45-feet of water, the work can only be done when the lock is out of service and mostly dewatered which is during the annual winter navigation shutdown period from early January through early March. Access to the work areas is restrictive in that the diffusers are about 50-feet below the adjacent lock wall surfaces thus temporary special access means such as construction stairways, elevators, etc., will be required for access. Crane service will be required to insert and remove equipment and materials. The work area cannot be completely dewatered by the GLS and therefore the Contractor would need to address additional dewatering in areas where further dewater is required, and to mitigate continuous leakage past GLS’s temporary water damming structures, all while in subfreezing temperatures during the completion of this scope of work. Submission: RFI: Interested firms shall submit the following for this RFI: Please e-mail a capability statement and other relevant information. Provide your company name and point of contact. Provide a list of three projects similar in scope and size, or greater, completed in the last ten years. The relevant projects shall include use of materials described. Brief descriptions of the relevant projects shall be provided along with contact information for references for each project. These projects shall involve construction, rehabilitation and/or replacement of hydraulic structures such as locks, dams, penstocks, hydroelectric plants, etc. The e-mail subject must contain Diffuser Replacement RFI in the subject line. Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to purchasing@dot.govVerbal questions will not be accepted and the GLS will respond to questions at its discretion. All communications will be sent via e-mail and shall not contain proprietary information. All responses shall be submitted prior to July 14, 2022, 2:00 pm (ET) to purchasing@dot.gov. Vendors who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regards to their submission other than acknowledgement of receipt. The GLS reserves the right to review late submissions but makes no guarantee that they will be reviewed. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ or RFP. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party's expense.