Federal Highway Administration, 21400 Ridgetop Circle, Sterling, VA 20166

Y -- NORTH CAROLINA FOREST HIGHWAY PROJECT NC PFH 58-1(2) SOL DTFH71-98-B-00006 DUE 031098 POC Engineering Coordinator, Gary L. Brown, 703-285-0075; Contracting Officer, Mary W. Daigle Sealed bids from all business concerns will be accepted for the North Carolina Forest Highway Project NC PFH 58-1(2), Nantahala National Forest, in Jackson County, North Carolina. The project consists of removing and replacing the existing bridges over Sols Creek and Wolf Creek, located along North Carolina Service Road 1756. The work also includes grading, paving, drainage improvements, guardrail installation, and other miscellaneous work. Principal items of work and approximate quantities are as follows: for the Sols Creek Bridge: 450 mm drilled shaft not in rock, 15 m; 450 mm drilled shaft in rock, 6 m; Concrete, 65 m3; 1219 mm prestressed concrete girders, 44 m; 914 mm prestressed concrete girders, 15 m. For the Wolf Creek Bridge: Concrete, 40 m3; 1219 mm prestressed concrete girders, 82 m; 914 mm prestressed concrete girders, 23 m; HP360 x 174 steel piles, 129 m. The project is expected to fall within the price range of $500,000 to $1,000,000. Invitation for Bids No. DTFH71-98-B-00006 to be issuedon or about February 6, 1998. Plans, proposal and contract booklets, standard specifications, and other bid documents, will be available on or after the issuance date, from the Federal Highway Administration, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, 21400 Ridgetop Circle, Sterling, Virginia 20166-6511, telephone: 800-892-8776, at no charge to bidders, subcontractors, and suppliers. Please call 703-285-0006 to verify availability of the bid documents. All requests for bid documents and planholder's lists will be mailed first class. It is strongly recommended that all requests for bid documents and planholder's lists be received 7 calendar days before bid opening to ensure receipt of requested materials. Requests for 'faxing' or overnight mailing will not be accepted. Bid opening on or about March 10, 1998, at 2:00 pm, local time, at the Federal Highway Administration address listed above Attn: Office of the Division Engineer. The following applies to Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises: The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization has bonding programs to assist minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises in acquiring short-term capital and bonding assistance for transportation-related contracts. Loans are available under the DOT Short Term Lending Program (STLP) at prime interest rates up to $500,000 to provide accounts receivable financing. The DOT Bonding Assistance Program enables firms to apply for bid, performance and payment bonds up to $1,000,000 per contract. DOT provides an 80 percent guaranty on the bond amount to a surety against losses. For further information and applicable forms concerning the STLP and Bonding Assistance Program, please call (800) 532-1169. (0021)

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