DOT, FED HWY ADMN, Office of Acquisition Management, 400 7TH ST, SW, Room 4410, Washington, DC 20590

R -- NATIONAL WORK ZONE SAFETY INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE" SOL DTFH61-97-X-00009 DUE 032197 POC James H. Mowery III, Negotiator, telephone number (202) 366-4244. Using full and open competition, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) plans to award a Cooperative Agreement under which the Recipient of the Agreement will establish and operate a national clearinghouse that will provide information and technical assistance concerning Work Zone Safety at highway construction sites. Such information and assistance would be provided to other government agencies, to public and private organizations, and to the general public -- -under Section 358(b) of the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, and under Section 1051 of the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). Work Zone Safety continues to be a highly visible problem due to the persistently high number of fatalities and injuries occurring in work zones, both for the highway user and for highway workers. Information to be contained in and available through the national clearinghouse would include national work zone crash data, public educational and outreach material, safety training course materials, federal laws and regulations, new technology and equipment, research projects and results, applicable specifications and special provisions, and good practices in use. Users of the service will include traffic and highway design engineers, public safety officials, educators, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers of traffic control devices, researchers, traffic law enforcement officials, labor union officials, and public and private work zone safety advocates. It is anticipated that the Recipient will provide: office space for the clearinghouse; a manager and several staff members; two toll-free telephone numbers for incoming telephone inquiries; an Internet E-mail address for computer-initiated inquiries; and approximately eight databases to be used as resources in responding to inquiries. It is anticipated that the FHWA will provide 100% of the funding for the first year of this three-year Cooperative Agreement. It is estimated that the FHWA will provide only 50% of the funding forthe second year, and that the FHWA will provide only 25% of the funding for the third year. The remaining funding is to be provided by -- -or obtained by -- -the Recipient. In addition, it is anticipated that the clearinghouse will continue to operate but be entirely self-sustaining after the expiration of the three-year Cooperative Agreement. The FHWA tentatively plans a cost-plus-fixed-fee Cooperative Agreement; but, because of the need for non-federal sources of funding, the FHWA strongly encourages the submission of Applications which do not include any fee for the Recipient of the Cooperative Agreement. Prospective Applicants should send a letter to the FHWA at the address shown above, requesting a copy of the FHWA's Request for Applications (RFA) for this Cooperative Agreement. Each prospective Applicant shall INCLUDE TWO SELF-ADDRESSED ADHESIVE LABELS with its letter requesting a copy of the RFA. The RFA will include a detailed Statement of Work and other information which cannot be published inthe Commerce Business Daily due to limitations of space. (0031)

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