54-TJK-02-PR40861, STATE ROUTE SHOULDER AND MEDIAN MOWING

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

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.

The Contractor shall provide at minimum (quantity) the following functional and operating equipment each cycle in the performance of mowing for this contract:

• 60" – 90" Mowers: 5
• 10' – 15' Flex Wing Mowers: 5
• 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 is required to use a mower with a side flail or side rotary attachment to perform trim work around all signs, mailboxes, driveways, driveway pipes, and other roadside fixtures on each route.

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

**Mandatory** prequalification: firms that wish to bid as the prime contractor must be pre-qualified as either a "Bidder" or "Purchase Order Contract (POC) Prime Contractor" prior to submitting the bid. Prospective bidders shall obtain prequalification approval at least two (2) business days prior to any letting in which they intend to submit a bid.

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).

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.

Any references in the RFP to pre-bid language will not apply as a pre-bid will not be held for this contract. If bidders have questions, they will be addressed in an addendum.