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Contract Opportunity

ON-SITE INDUSTRY DAY NO. 1 FOR GARRISON DAM SPILLWAY MODIFICATIONS

This announcement provides details for the upcoming On-Site Industry Day. This notice does not constitute a solicitation. This announcement and the Industry Day event are for planning purposes only. Response to this notice is strictly voluntary. The Government will not reimburse any party attending or participating for costs incurred for this event or marketing efforts.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, On-Site Industry Day event will take place from 8:00 AM to approximately 12:30 PM CT on October 11, 2023. The On-Site Industry Day will start with an overview at City Hall and then a site tour of the site.

The Address for the Industry Day is:

Garrison Dam, ND

*Initial briefing will be conducted at Pick City Hall started at 8:00 a.m. Central Time.

Pick City Hall

18 1st Ln SE

Pick City ND, 58545

Industry Day will be held:

October 11, 2023

8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Central Time

Industry Day Attendance:

The event is free of charge and all interested parties are invited to attend. To be allowed entrance to the event, you must provide the following information to Micah Sugiura and Nadine Catania at micah.n.sugiura@usace.army.mil and Nadine.L.Catania@usace.army.mil NLT the dates provided below:

1. Foreign (non-US) Citizens, provide the following information by 3:00 pm Central Time on September 20, 2023: (1) Full name, (2) Position and Affiliated Organization, (3) Scanned copy of passport.


2. All other Attendees, provide the following information by 3:00 pm Central Time on September 30, 2023: (1) Full Name and (2) Position and Affiliated Organization.

**Photography will be restricted to specific areas pertaining to the project scope of work. Attendees taking unauthorized photographs will be escorted from the premises. There will be no individual or unescorted tours**

One-on-One Meetings via WebEx:

Prime contractors and major subcontractors can request a one-on-one meeting with the government team to provide feedback and/or recommendations on this project only and is strictly voluntary. The information provided by the contractors at each meeting will be maintained within government controls and will not be released outside of the government team for this project. These meetings are intended to provide contractors the opportunity to provide information directly to the government team. The government team will provide any government information that results from the on-site and one-on-one meetings that has not been previously provided by the government to ensure equal access of government information for this project.

Contractors must provide the following information to Micah Sugiura and Nadine Catania at micah.n.sugiura@usace.army.mil and Nadine.L.Catania@usace.army.mil by 3:00 pm Central Time on October 11, 2023. No other dates will be scheduled. Times for one-on-one meetings will be assigned on a first-come basis.

1. Full names of all participants, positions and affiliated organization.


2. Three (3) requested times for meeting.

Times for One-on-One Meetings

October 17, 2023 October 18, 2023 October 19, 2023

9am – 9:45am 9am – 9:45am 9am – 9:45am

10am – 10:45am 10 am – 10:45am 10 am – 10:45am

11am – 11:45am 11am – 11:45am 11am – 11:45am

1pm – 1:45pm 1pm – 1:45pm 1pm – 1:45pm

2pm – 2:45pm 2pm – 2:45pm 2pm – 2:45pm

*All meetings are Central Time

The government team will provide a meeting invite with the selected time and details for the WebEx one-on-one meeting. Requested changes to the meeting date and time by the contractor after establishment of the meeting could result in no meeting with the contractor due to scheduling conflicts.

Prime construction contractors and major subcontractors are encouraged to provide information about this project to the government team. The one-on-one meeting with contractors is NOT to be used for contractors to submit their capability briefings to the team. The meetings shall be used for prime contractors and major subcontractors to provide insight into this project and any potential concerns with this project.

Interested contractors may submit clarification requests to the Contracting Officer by October 13, 2023. USACE will endeavor to consolidate and post answers to clarification requests to SAM before COB on October 16, 2023 [NOTE: Clarification requests and the USACE answers will not be confidential].

Industry Questions and Comments:

ALL inquiries and questions related to this Industry Day are to be submitted to Micah Sugiura and Nadine Catania at micah.n.sugiura@usace.army.mil and Nadine.L.Catania@usace.army.mil. Comments will be accepted via email November 3, 2023.

Background

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is requesting input from contractors on constructability and contracting elements of the Recommended Plan for spillway modifications from the Garrison Dam, Dam Safety Modification Study (DSMS). The DSMS was completed, and the project has officially transitioned from the feasibility study phase to the Preconstruction Engineering and Design (PED) phase. Basic project information and critical construction constraints are provided below.

Garrison Dam is one of six USACE owned and operated mainstem dams on the Missouri River mainstem system (System). It is a high hazard potential dam located in McLean and Mercer Counties, North Dakota (ND). The authorized purposes provided by Garrison Dam and the Missouri River System include flood risk management (FRM), hydroelectric power, water supply, water quality control, irrigation, recreation, navigation, and fish and wildlife. Construction was completed from the fall of 1947 through the spring of 1954.

The reservoir behind Garrison Dam (Lake Sakakawea) is the largest USACE reservoir and the third largest reservoir in the U.S. When full (at the base of the Annual Flood Control and Multiple Use Zone), the reservoir is 178 miles long and up to 6 miles wide. At elevation 1855.2 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88), the top of the Exclusive Flood Control Zone, the reservoir storage capacity is 23.5 million acre-feet (MAF). This volume is almost a third of the total storage capacity of the System.

A failure of either the Garrison Dam embankment or spillway during a maximum high pool would result in widespread, long-lasting, and catastrophic consequences impacting 11 states and approximately 2,000 river miles (not including backwater areas up tributaries) extending from North Dakota to Mississippi. Garrison Dam is classified as having a Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC) 2 (High Urgency) primarily due to the severity of incremental consequences that would occur during an uncontrolled reservoir release. Garrison Dam currently has a total of six risk-driving Potential Failure Modes (PFMs) that are associated with the spillway. As a result of these PFMs and the associated significant consequences that would result from a spillway failure, risks at the project do not meet the USACE Societal Tolerable Risk Guideline (TRG).

Project Information

The project consists of a zoned earthfill dam, outlet works, spillway, and reservoir. The main embankment generally runs east-west and is approximately 12,000 feet long with a maximum height of 210 feet. The dam has a crest width of 60 feet with a design crest elevation of 1,876.2 feet NAVD88. The outlet works includes an approach channel, intake structure, powerhouse with five power tunnels, three regulating (flood-control) tunnels, a regulating tunnel stilling basin, and a tailrace discharge channel. The crest and spillway bridge occupy ND State Highway 200 which is a major highway through central North Dakota.

The approximately 3,000-foot-long spillway is excavated in the left abutment with a design crest elevation of 1,826.2 feet NAVD88. The chute-type spillway structure consists of a crest structure (including Tainter gates and a bridge), paved chute channel, and a stilling basin. The chute transitions from a width of 1,336 feet at the crest to 800 feet wide in the upper half of the spillway and maintains the 800 feet width through the lower half of the chute and stilling basin. The updated Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) in 2020 resulted in decreased freeboard at the dam from 13.8 to 1.4 feet and increased spillway peak discharges from the original design discharge of 827,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 1,150,000 cfs.

The spillway underdrain system consists of a herringbone pattern of nine lateral vitrified clay pipe drains connected to three longitudinal drains situated under the frost blanket (drainage material) beneath the reinforced concrete spillway chute slab. There are 27 manholes in the chute at the intersections of the lateral and longitudinal drains.

The Recommended Plan approved in the DSMS for PED consists of:

• A full replacement of the spillway drainage system through selective demolition of the existing chute slab at designated new lateral drain locations.


• A reinforced concrete overlay throughout the entire chute and stilling basin.


• Armoring the area behind the chute walls.


• Raising the spillway abutment monoliths.


• Constructing a deflector beam to deflect the overflow nappe from gates and modifying the gate trunnion hubs.


• Rehabilitation of the spillway gate deicing system and additional intervention measures to facilitate gate deicing.


• An additional line of drains on the west abutment above the powerhouse.


• The total project cost of the Recommended Plan is between $500 million and $1 billion

A substantial majority of this project is composed of the following (quantities are preliminary, approximate, and subject to change):

• 400,000 cubic yards (CY) conventional reinforced concrete for new slab overlay, stilling basin modifications, and armoring behind the chute walls.


• 100,000 CY of mass concrete (either roller compacted concrete or controlled low-strength material/Flowable fill).


• 70,000 tons of reinforcing steel.


• Modern spillway slab joint details including 125,000 linear feet (LF) of waterstops.


• 600,000 CY of excavation.


• 16,000 LF of 18-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) lateral drain with two-stage filter.


• 4,700 LF of conventional concrete inspection/maintenance galleries (2,350 LF on each side of the spillway chute).


• 1,600 grouted passive rock anchors (average length 90 feet each).


• 150 post-tensioned anchors (baffle blocks and end sill) (average length 120 feet each).


• 28 tainter gate modifications on crest structure.

Critical Construction Considerations:

• Construction Work Window: The base estimate/schedule assumes construction will occur between approximately May to the end of October each year. Due to the limits on the construction season and length of construction there is risk that weather and/or flood delays could impact construction duration.


• Flood Risk Management During Construction: Flood water can pass through Garrison Dam via the powerhouse, the regulating tunnels (up to approximately 100,000 cfs) or through the spillway. The bulk of the construction activities will be occurring within the spillway. Contractor exposure will be limited based on the amount of flood risk that exists. The flood season overlaps the assumed construction season in the months of May, June, and July. The spillway was only used in 2011, 2018, and 2019 in the life of the dam to discharge water as a result of high runoff events into the reservoir.


• Construction Sequencing: In addition to the flood risk management during construction considerations within the spillway work area, the Contractor will have to coordinate major construction work activities in similar general working areas such as the gate control structure modification, the drainage system construction, and the concrete overlay placements.


• Materials availability and testing to meet project requirements: Coarse aggregate quality is a concern and a materials availability and mix design investigation in the early PED stages will be important to determine if satisfactory locally sourced material is available. Coarse aggregate may need to be imported to the site from longer than anticipated distances.


• Concrete Delivery: Concrete delivery challenges are possible due to contractor limitations discussed above and physical site constraints such as equipment accessibility within the spillway chute and 115 KV and 230 KV transmission line interferences. The transmission lines need to be further investigated to determine the minimum acceptable clearances to determine how equipment such as cranes or pump trucks will be impacted. These impacts may dictate concrete delivery methods and concrete placement production rates.


• Spillway Chute Wall Excavation: Stability of the excavated cutslope behind the chute wall for construction of the gallery and drainage system features will be evaluated in the early PED phases to determine what type of slope stability support measures such as structural shotcrete and soil nail walls are required to maintain a stable and safe work area. Also, the extents of excavation may be limited by any flood risk impacts from the open excavation which would impact construction sequencing, production rates, and correspondingly the construction schedule.


• Dewatering: Construction work in the lower spillway chute and the stilling basin will require dewatering of about 60 feet of surrounding groundwater levels. The Government intends to perform a dewatering investigation in PED to inform the dewatering design. Dewatering systems design and construction sequencing will be critical design elements that will impact overall construction schedule and cost considerations. A cofferdam shall be constructed downstream of the stilling basin to prevent the powerhouse discharges from inundating the stilling basin during dewatering operations.


• Tainter Gate Construction Risks: There are risks with how many gates can be taken out of service at one time for retrofits and accessibility for the proposed work. This may impact the project’s ability to pass flood water and correspondingly impact construction production. Also, Contractor must ensure that the Tainter gates meet the requirements of ER 1110-2-8157 to allow personnel to work downstream of the gates. There are currently 28 stoplogs onsite that can be utilized during construction for Tainter gate repairs.


• Operational Constraints: The dam will be operated in accordance with the approved water control plan during construction. Operations at the dam have not been modified as part of the study. The existing spillway that is being modified will be required to be operational for emergency flood releases if it is needed.


• Access/Haul Roads and Batch Plant Locations: The Government has identified locations of possible access roads, disposal areas, laydown areas, batch plant locations, etc. for Contractor consideration. Location of critical construction site features may vary between contractors depending on planned construction sequencing and construction plans by each contractor. The Government intends to get input from prospective bidders on possible construction site feature locations.

Project Labor Agreement

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District is soliciting comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of Project Labor Agreements (PLA) for this large-scale construction project (exceeding $35 million).

Provide your response by 4:00pm CT on November 3, 2023, to Nadine.L.Catania@usace.army.mil.

In the Subject Line of your response include PLA Survey – Garrison Dam Spillway Modifications. Please provide your contact information in the body of the email.

A PLA is defined as a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between a Prime contractor and one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement described in 29 U.S. C. 158(f). Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR 22.503) Policy provides that:

1. Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a tool that agencies may use to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order 13502, agencies are encouraged to consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects.


2. An agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor and subcontractor, or certain subcontractors, engaged in construction on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations if the agency decides that the use of project labor agreements will
   
   
   
   1. Advance the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards and other matters; and
   
   
   2. Be consistent with law. Reference: FAR 52.222-33 Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement; FAR 52.222-34 Project Labor Agreement.
   
   
   
   

Please provide responses to the following questions:

1. Do you have knowledge that a PLA has been used in the local area on projects of this kind? If so, please provide supporting documentation.


2. Are you aware of skilled labor shortages in the area for those crafts that will be needed to complete the reference project? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation where possible.


3. Are you aware of time sensitive issues/scheduling requirements that would affect the rate at which the referenced project should be completed? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation where possible.


4. Identify specific reasons why you believe a PLA would advance or hinder the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement.


5. Would inclusion of PLA in the solicitation cause your company to not to submit an offer for this project?


6. Identify any additional information you believe should be considered in the decision to use a PLA on the referenced project.

The information gathered in this survey should include the following information on projects completed in the last 5 years:

1. Project Name and Location

2. Detailed Project Description

3. Initial Cost Estimate vs. Actual Final Cost

4. Was the project completed on time?

5. Number of craft trades present on the project

6. Was a PLA used?

7. Were there any challenges experienced during the project

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