South Dakota Department of Transportation -

Bid Letting Information

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Bidding Information NEW

Electronic Bidding

Contractor Information

Bid Letting Staff

Q&A Forum Information

The Project Question and Answer Forum (Q&A Forum) shall be used by all contractors (prime bidders, subcontractors, and suppliers) that have questions or concerns regarding a project that has been advertised for bidding. Contractors contacting the Department by other methods will be directed to use the Q&A Forum whenever possible. The intent of the Q&A Forum is to provide a location for contractors to submit their questions and concerns that will ensure they are received and addressed by the appropriate personnel in a timely manner, and to make certain that all contractors have access to the same information regarding a particular project. The proceeding outlines the Q&A Forum rules in accordance with the Special Provision for Electronic Bidding Requirements.

Any project specific questions or concerns regarding an advertised project should be submitted to the Department via the Q&A Forum.
To submit a question a contractor must enter the Q&A Forum for the applicable project where there will be a link to “Ask a New Question.” The contractor will then be directed to log in with their Company ID and Password before submitting a question.
Questions will be screened by Department staff to make certain they are project relevant before being posted to the Q&A Forum.
Questions will be numbered in the order received and posted questions will identify the company submitting the question.
Contractors are responsible for periodically checking the Q&A Forum for posted questions and answers prior to the bid opening. Notification of a posted question or answer will not be provided.
Once a question or answer is posted to the Q&A Forum it will never be removed or revised. If there is a need to address an issue regarding a posted question or answer, a new question and answer will be posted to clarify the concern.
If the question results in an answer that requires more than a written response or results in any change to the bid item file, an addendum will be issued and the response posted on the Q&A Forum will inform contractors of the addendum.
DEADLINE 1: Contractors may submit questions to the Q&A Forum from the time the project is advertised for letting on the Department’s website until 10:00AM CT on the Friday prior to the Wednesday letting.
After the contractor deadline to submit questions to the Q&A Forum, contractors must contact Department staff with any questions or concerns. Although there will still be potential to address these late questions via the Q&A Forum or by addendum, there will be no guarantee and the chances of receiving a response will diminish as the bid opening approaches.
DEADLINE 2: The Department may post questions and answers to the Q&A Forum until 10:00AM CT on the Tuesday prior to the Wednesday bid opening at which time the Q&A Forum will be closed (locked from all editing). Contractors submitting a bid before the Q&A Forum is closed are responsible for revisiting the Q&A Forum after it closes to ensure all questions and answers have been accounted for.
The Q&A Forum is contract binding and the submission of a bid proposal will be considered conclusive evidence that the bidder has reviewed the complete Q&A Forum and accounted for all questions and answers provided. The Q&A Forum will be included as a contract document in the executed contract.

NOTE: Timeframes are based on a typical bid opening time of Wednesday at 10:00AM CT.