SCDOT to replace the Ladys Island bridge fender system in Beaufort County

The South Carolina Department of Transportation will open bids Nov. 10 on a project to replace the fender system at the Ladys Island bridge in Beaufort County.

According to SCDOT's Notice to Contractors, call 020 (PCN P045209, SC file 0776090) covers 0.433 mile for the Ladys Island bridge fender system replacement. The completion date is Dec. 31, 2027, and the call lists a 0% DBE goal. The notice lists the funding type as "OTHR" rather than federal.

The work

A bridge fender system protects the piers at a navigation channel from vessel strikes. The item list includes:

• mobilization, bonds and insurance;
• construction stakes, lines and grades;
• removal of structures and obstructions;
• traffic control;
• 50.4 cubic yards of Class 4000 concrete for structures and 6,944 pounds of bridge reinforcing steel;
• 1,722 pounds of structural steel;
• 13,730 linear feet of HP 18x135 steel H-bearing piling;
• 103.2 thousand board feet of treated timber for the fender system;
• bridge navigation lighting and signing.

Marine construction capability, meaning barges, pile driving and work over water, is the main qualifier. Coastal marine contractors and pile-driving subs are the natural bidders and partners.

Other Lowcountry and statewide work

The 26-call letting also includes a 2027 pavement improvement contract for Colleton County, an 18-mile I-26 corridor project in Calhoun and Orangeburg counties, and 30 miles of I-95 safety improvements in Clarendon and Orangeburg.

Bidding

• Only SCDOT-prequalified contractors may bid.
• Bids are electronic through Bid Express, with a 5% electronic bid bond on SCDOT Form 674.
• Proposals and plans are on the free Construction Extranet. Hard copies are optional: $15 per proposal and $2 per plan sheet from SCDOT Engineering Publications.

Our Beaufort County hub lists firms and lettings in the county.

What the quantities mean

The pay items are dominated by two materials: 13,730 feet of heavy 18-inch steel H-piling and 103.2 thousand board feet of treated timber. Together they describe a pile-supported timber fender, built over water at the bridge's navigation channel. The navigation lighting and signing item means the channel lights and signs are part of the contract.

With only 11 line items, the bid will turn on a few big numbers: pile furnishing and driving, timber, and the marine equipment needed to install them.

Funding

The other bridge calls on this letting, in Chesterfield, Lancaster, Laurens and Spartanburg counties and District 4, are federally funded. Call 020 is listed as "OTHR." Bidders should read the proposal for the contract provisions that apply to this call rather than assume the federal-aid package.

Other Lowcountry work on the letting

Call 050, the 2027 Colleton pavement improvement contract, is the other Lowcountry job on the letting. SCDOT lists its approximate length as 16.65 miles, its completion date as Nov. 30, 2028, state funding and a 0% DBE goal. Its items include borrow excavation and extra rock for full-depth reclamation.

Performance scores and quotes

SCDOT's notice says certain projects require bidders to have a minimum quarterly Contractor Performance Score (CPS), and those projects are marked with the minimum score and the quarter it was issued. Contractors can check their CPS with SCDOT Construction Data Support. The free Construction Extranet discussion board, where primes and subs request and offer quotes, requires registering for a user name and password. Marine and pile-driving subs who want to quote call 020 can post there before the Nov. 10 opening.

Bids for all 26 calls are due at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 10. SCDOT posts bid totals on its website, Bid Express and the Construction Extranet right after opening, and we will report the apparent low bidder on call 020 once results are out.