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After the bids are opened and read, they will be compared on the basis of the summation of the products of the quantities shown in the bid schedule by the unit bid prices. The results of such comparisons will be immediately available to the public. In the event of errors, omissions, or discrepancies in the bid prices, corrections to the bid prices will be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 1032. Such corrected bid prices will be used for the comparison and consideration of bids.
The right is reserved to reject any or all bids, to waive technicalities, to request the low Bidder to submit an up-to-date financial and operating statement, to advertise for new bids, or to proceed to do the work otherwise, if in the judgment of the Board, the best interests of the State will be promoted thereby.
103-2 CORRECTION OF BID ERRORS.
(A) General:
The provisions of this article shall apply in waiving irregularities and correcting apparent clerical errors and omissions in the "unit bid price" and the "amount bid" for bid items.
(B) Omitted Unit Bid Price--Amount Bid Completed--Quantity Bid on Is One Unit:
In the case of a bid item for which the "amount bid" is completed, but the "unit bid price" is omitted and the "quantity" shown in the proposal for the bid item is only one unit, the "unit bid price" shall be deemed to be the same as the amount bid for that bid item and shall constitute the "contract unit price" for that bid item.
(C) Omitted Unit Bid Price--Amount Bid Completed--Quantity Bid on Is More Than One Unit:
In the case of a bid item for which the "amount bid" is completed (extension of the "unit bid price" by the quantity) but the "unit bid price" is omitted and the quantity shown in the proposal for the bid item is more than one unit, the "unit bid price" shall be deemed to be the amount derived by dividing the "amount bid" for that item by the quantity shown in the proposal for that bid item and shall constitute the "contract unit price" for that bid item.
(D) Discrepancy in the "Unit Bid Price" and the "Amount Bid":
In the case of a bid item in which there is a discrepancy between the "unit bid price" and the extension for the bid item ("amount bid"), the "unit bid price" shall govern.
As an exception to the above, on bids for contracts not funded with any Federal funds, the extension for the bid item ("amount bid") shall govern when the discrepancy consists of an obvious clerical mistake in the "unit bid price" consisting of the misplacement of a decimal point. The correction to the "unit bid price" will be made only when the following two conditions are met:
1. The corrected "unit bid price" multiplied by the quantity equals the "amount bid" for the bid item.
2. The corrected "unit bid price" is closer to the average of the engineer's estimate and the individual bids for the contract item than the uncorrected "unit bid price".
(E) Omitted "Unit Bid Price" and Omitted "Amount Bid"--Deemed "Zero" Bid:
The provisions of this subarticle shall apply only to bids for contracts not funded with any Federal funds.
In the case of omission of the "unit bid price" and the omission of the "amount bid" for any one item, and also in the case of the omission of the "amount bid" where a lump sum price is called for, the "amount bid" and the "unit bid price" shall be deemed to be zero where the value of the omitted "amount bid" is 1 percent or less of the "total amount bid" for the entire project (excluding the omitted item). The value of the omitted "amount bid" will be derived by determining the average of the engineer's estimate and the individual bids for that contract item.
Where the "unit bid price" is deemed to be zero as provided in this subarticle, such zero "unit bid price" shall constitute the "contract unit price" for the affected bid item.
Where the "amount bid" for a lump sum bid item is deemed to be zero as provided in this subarticle, such zero "amount bid" shall constitute the "contract lump sum price" for that bid item.
This subarticle shall not apply to the bid item for "Mobilization".
(F) Unit bid prices containing more than four (4) decimal places:
In the case of a Bid Item for which the "amount bid" contains more than four (4) decimal places for the "Unit Bid Price", only the whole number and the first four (4) decimal places shall constitute the "Contract Unit Price" for that Bid Item.
103-3 WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS--MISTAKE.
(A) Criteria for Withdrawal of Bid:
The Department of Transportation may allow a Bidder submitting a bid pursuant to G.S. 13628.1 for construction or repair work to withdraw his bid after the scheduled time of bid opening upon a determination that:
1. A mistake was in fact made in the preparation of the bid.
2. The mistake in the bid is of a clerical or mathematical nature and not one of bad judgment, carelessness in inspecting the work site, or in reading the plans and specifications.
3. The mistake is found to be made in good faith and was not deliberate or by reason of gross negligence.
4. The amount of the error or mistake is equal to or greater than 3 percent of the total amount bid.
5. The notice of his mistake and request for withdrawal of the bid by reason of the mistake was promptly communicated to the Chief Engineer and in no instance longer than 48 hours after the scheduled time of bid opening. If the Bidder notifies the Chief Engineer verbally, written notice of mistake must be submitted within 48 hours to the Chief Engineer accompanied by copies of bid preparation information.
6. The Department of Transportation will not be prejudiced or damaged except for the loss of the bid.
(B) Hearing by Chief Engineer:
If a Bidder files a notice of mistake along with a request to withdraw his bid, the Chief Engineer (or his designee) will promptly hold a hearing thereon. The Chief Engineer will give to the requesting Bidder reasonable notice of the time and place of any such hearing. The Bidder may appear at the hearing and present the original working papers, documents, or materials used in the preparation of the bid sought to be withdrawn, together with other facts and arguments in support of his request to withdraw his bid. The Bidder will be required to present a written affidavit that the documents presented are the original, unaltered documents used in the preparation of the bid.
(C) Action by State Highway Administrator:
A determination may be made by the Administrator that the Bidder meets the criteria for withdrawal of the bid as set forth in Subarticle 1033(A) upon presentation of clear and convincing evidence by the Bidder. The Chief Engineer will present his findings to the State Highway Administrator for action on the Bidder's request. The Chief Engineer will advise the Bidder of the Administrator's decision prior to the Board of Transportation's consideration of award.
(D) Bid Bond:
If a bid mistake is made and a request to withdraw the bid is made, the bid bond shall continue in full force and effect until there is a determination by the Administrator that the conditions in Subarticle 1033(A) have been met. The effect of the refusal of the Contractor to give payment and performance bonds within 14 calendar days after the notice of award is received by him, if award has been made by the Board of Transportation after consideration and denial of the Contractor's request to withdraw his bid, shall be governed by the terms and conditions of the bid bond.
(A) General:
The North Carolina Department of Transportation, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252) and the Regulations of the Department of Transportation (49 CFR, Part 21), issued pursuant to such act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that contracts entered in pursuant to advertisements, if awarded, will be made by the Board of Transportation to the lowest responsible Bidder without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin. The lowest responsible Bidder will be notified by letter that his bid has been accepted and that he has been awarded the contract. This letter shall constitute the notice of award. The notice of award, if the award be made, will be issued within 60 days after the opening of bids, except that with the consent of the lowest responsible Bidder the decision to award the contract to such Bidder may be delayed for as long a time as may be agreed upon by the Department and such Bidder. In the absence of such agreement, the lowest responsible Bidder may withdraw his bid at the expiration of the 60 days without penalty if no notice of award has been issued.
Award of a contract involving any unbalanced bid price(s) may be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 10215.
(B) Award Limits:
A Bidder who desires to bid on more than one project on which bids are to be opened on the same date, and who also desires to avoid receiving an award of more projects than he is equipped to handle, may bid on any number of projects but may limit the total amount of work awarded to him on selected projects by completing the form "Award Limits on Multiple Projects" for each project subject to the award limit. This form will be bound within each proposal form. This form will not be effective unless the amount is filled in and the form is properly signed. In the event that a Bidder is the lowest responsible Bidder on projects subject to the award limit and the value of such projects is more than the "award limit" established by such Bidder, the Board of Transportation will not award such Bidder projects from among those subject to the award limit which have a total value exceeding the award limit. The projects to be awarded to the Bidder will be those projects on which award will result in the lowest total cost to the Department of Transportation.
In determining the lowest total cost to the Department, the options of rejecting a bid or readvertising for new bids may be considered.
All bids submitted without the properly executed form "Award Limits on Multiple Projects" will not be subject to the award limit. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the completed award limit forms submitted by the same Bidder for the different projects in a letting, the Department reserves the right to declare all such award limit forms invalid or to make such interpretation of the discrepancy as may be in the best interests of the Department. However, the presence of such discrepancy shall not be reason for declaring any bid irregular nor shall it invalidate the conditions of his bid bond or bid deposit.
Where a prequalified Contractor bids individually (as opposed to a Joint Venture) on one or more projects and also bids on one of more projects (See Standard Special Provisions) as part of a Joint Venture, such individual Bidder and such Joint Venture will be considered separate bidders in applying the provisions of this article.
The Board of Transportation reserves the right to rescind the award of any contract at any time before the receipt of the properly executed contract bonds from the successful Bidder.
103-6 RETURN OF BID BOND OR BID DEPOSIT.
All bid bonds will be retained by the Department until the contract bonds are furnished by the successful Bidder, after which all such bid bonds will be destroyed unless the individual bid bond form contains a note requesting that it be returned to the Bidder or the Surety.
Checks which have been furnished as a bid deposit by all Bidders other than the 3 lowest responsible Bidders will be retained not more than 10 days after the date of opening of bids. After the expiration of such period, Department of Transportation warrants in the equivalent amount of checks which were furnished as a bid deposit will be issued to all Bidders other than the 3 lowest responsible Bidders.
Checks which have been furnished as a bid deposit by the 3 lowest responsible Bidders will be retained until after the contract bonds have been furnished by the successful Bidder, at which time Department of Transportation warrants in the equivalent amount of checks which were furnished as a bid deposit will be issued to the 3 lowest responsible Bidders.
The successful Bidder, within 14 calendar days after the notice of award is received by him, shall provide the Department with a contract payment bond and a contract performance bond each in an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of the contract. All bonds shall be in conformance with G.S. 44A33. The corporate surety furnishing the bonds shall be authorized to do business in the State.
As soon as possible following receipt of the properly executed contract bonds, the Department will complete the execution of the contract, retain the original contract, and return one certified copy of the contract to the Contractor.
103-9 FAILURE TO FURNISH CONTRACT BONDS.
The successful Bidder's failure to file acceptable
bonds within 14 calendar days after the notice of award is received
by him shall be just cause for the forfeiture of the bid bond
or bid deposit and rescinding the award of the contract. Award
may then be made to the next lowest responsible Bidder or the
work may be readvertised and constructed under contract or otherwise,
as the Board of Transportation may decide.