54-TJK-02-PR40857, STATE ROUTE SHOULDER AND MEDIAN MOWING

Work includes mowing of vegetation along State Highway System routes within Carteret and Craven Counties. The furnishing of all equipment, tools, materials, transportation, and labor shall be incidental to completion of the work.

BID PROPOSAL NO.: 54-TJK-02-PR40857. TYPE OF WORK: STATE ROUTE SHOULDER AND MEDIAN MOWING. COUNTIES: CARTERET AND CRAVEN – DIVISION 2.

The terms “Swath” and “Ditch” are used to indicate standard mowing patterns for routine mowing cycles. [...] A Contract awarded pursuant to this RFP will use the Ditch typical section for routine mowing cycles on all routes.

Cleanup mowing cycles shall include the area established for routine mowing and extend to the established tree/wood line or right-of-way, or as directed by the Engineer.

Vegetation shall be cut to a height of four (4) inches. At the discretion of the Engineer mowing height may be adjusted as necessary but never less than three (3) inches.

Required mowing equipment (minimum each cycle)

• 60" – 90" Mowers: 4
• 10’ – 15' Flex Wing Mowers: 4
• Long-arm Mowers: 0
• 60” to 72” Zero Turn type Mowers: 0

The Contractor will be required to have a minimum of one (1) 4WD tractor available at the direction of the Engineer.

The Contractor shall perform vegetation trimming around all permanent roadway signs on all four-lane divided and undivided routes during each mowing cycle. This work is incidental to the primary scope of the contract; no separate or additional payment will be made for sign trimming, and all associated costs shall be absorbed into the Contractor's unit bid prices for mowing.

Mowing and string trimming operations performed under this contract shall comply with the moratorium established in SL 2025-47 (SB 391) as follows: ALL ROUTES: May 1 through May 31. During moratorium periods, no mowing or string trimming operations may be performed unless directed by the Engineer.

Intermediate Completion Times

| Cycle | Date of Availability | Type of Cut | Date of Completion |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | March 29, 2027 | Routine | April 30, 2027 |
| 2 | June 1, 2027 | Routine/Cleanup | July 11, 2027 |
| 3 | July 12, 2027 | Routine/Cleanup | August 22, 2027 |
| 4 | August 23, 2027 | Routine/Cleanup | October 3, 2027 |
| 5 | October 4, 2027 | Routine | November 14, 2027 |

**Bid questions:** bidders shall submit by email any such questions no later than **November 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM**. Written questions shall be emailed to Teddy Kapera tjkapera@ncdot.gov. Bidders will enter “54-TJK-02-PR40857 – Questions” as the subject for the email. A response to bidder questions will be in the form of an addendum.

**Prequalification is mandatory.** Firms that wish to bid on these projects as the prime contractor must be pre-qualified as either a “Bidder” or “Purchase Order Contract (POC) Prime Contractor” prior to submitting the bid. A bid shall not be opened unless all prequalification requirements have been met by the bidder and have been found acceptable by the Engineer.

A contract awarded pursuant to this RFP shall have an effective date of March 15, 2027. The completion date shall be December 31, 2027. At its discretion, NCDOT may offer extension of the contract for an additional term up to a maximum of five (5) total terms (original term and four (4) renewals).

**Performance Guarantee:** Upon award of contract, the Contractor is required to choose one of the following Performance Guarantee Options. Option 1: Performance and Payment Bonds: A Performance Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the contract amount [...] In addition, a Payment Bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the contract amount. Option 2: Retainage Fee: For the initial term and any extensions, the NCDOT shall retain six percent (6%) from the amount of each invoice as a performance guarantee.