DOT/RSPA/VOLPE National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 02142

B -- CONDUCT A PLANIMETRIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF THE MARYLAND MIDLAND RAILWAY SOL DTRS57-98-Q-80030 DUE 121597 POC Karen Marino, Purchasing Agent, (617) 494-2437 WEB: Volpe Center Acquisition Division Home Page, http://www.volpe.dot.gov/procure/index.html. E-MAIL: Purchasing Agent, marinok@volpe1.dot.gov. The Volpe Center plans to solicit, through Simplified Acquisition procedures, a sole-source procurement from John E. Chance and Associates, Lafayette, Louisiana, to produce a detailed globally referenced topographical map and video record of the track and right-of-way of the Maryland Midland Railway and acquire the ability to reprocess the stored data for continual analysis and study. The contractor will be required to conduct a planimetric and topographic survey of the Railway and right-of-way using an airborne corridor mapping and profile system and make available the necessary software to view and reprocess the acquired data for future analysis. Track geometry data and gage restraint measurement data has been recorded over fifty miles of the Maryland Midland track yearly since 1991, this data is being used to monitor track degradation rates for specific track segments. A key contributor to track degradation is local terrain condition that determines water drainage and causes differential settlement.Small Business firms classified under SIC Code 8713 that are interested in proposing on this requirement must demonstrate in writing NO later than 15 days from the date of publication that: (1) They have at a minimum 8 months experience on surveying railroad properties. (2) The data they produce can be recorded and processed at a speed of approximately 45 mph while yielding a data point every 1.5 square feet with a documented (1 sigma) accuracy of 20 cm horizontal and 10 cm vertical; (3) the software used is PC compatible and provides a time-stamped video interface. Small Business firms will be required to submit documentation in support of the above for evaluation by the Government prior to receiving a solicitation. A single award will result from this solicitation. NO telephone requests will be accepted -- only written requests for this solicitation will be accepted, however, we will accept requests for this solicitation via facsimile, at (617)494-3649, ATTN: Karen Marino, DTS-853. For information on this solicitation you may contact Karen Marino at 617/494-2437. The solicitation and any document related to this procurement will be available on the Internet, these documents will be available on a WWW server which may be accessed using Web browsers. The WWW address, or URL, of the Volpe Center Acquisition Division home page is: "http://www.volpe.dot.gov/procure/index.html". Offerors desiring to receive electronic notification of the solicitation's posting and availability for downloading may register at the Volpe Center site. Contractors are warned that when they register to receive solicitations, amendments and other notices, the responsibility for providing the Government with an accurate and complete e-mail address lies with the contractor. The Government will make no additional efforts to deliver information when the system indicates that transmissions cannot be delivered to the e-mail address provided. Requests for a hardcopy of the solicitation may be mailed or sent via e-mail to marinok@volpe1.dot.gov. Telephone requests will not be honored. This notice is for informational purposes for Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises: The Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of Small and Business and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), has a program to assist minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises to acquire short-term working capital assistance for transportation-related contracts. Loans are available under the DOT Short Term Lending Program (STLP) at prime interest rates to provide accounts receivable financing. The maximum line of credit is $500,000. For further information and applicable forms concerning the STLP, please call the OSDBU at (800) 532-1169. For information concerning the acquisition, contact the contracting official listed above. (0330)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0011 19971201\B-0002.SOL)