SDDOT / Project Development / Bid Letting / Contractor Info / How to Bid

Please note: The steps on this page only prequalify you with the SD Dept. of Transportation to perform construction work. You still need to follow the steps required by other agencies for conducting business in South Dakota. All the information and forms you need to start and run a business can be found at South Dakota's New Service Direct site at this link https://www.sd.gov/Main_Login.asp.

1. Prequalification of Bidders

In accordance with current bidding procedures, Administrative Rules 70:07:02, a bidder must be prequalified prior to bidding on state highway construction projects, unless his bid is less than $100,000. Contractors may apply for prequalification by fully completing and executing a Prequalification Statement on forms furnished by the Department. Such application must be sent to the Classification and Rating Committee at the Becker-Hansen Building, 700 East Broadway, Pierre, SD 57501 at least fourteen (14) days prior to the day of the letting. This form is available on line - click here.

Requests to add work types are considered a new questionnaire submission, and must meet the 14-day requirement.

A line of credit submitted to increase bidding capacity must be received by the committee before 4:00 p.m. of the last working day of the week preceding the letting. If the Legislature or the Governor declares the afternoon of the last working day of the week preceding the letting to be a holiday, the request must be received before 11:00 a.m. of the last working day. This form is available on line - click here.

Upon approval by the Committee, said Qualification shall be in force for not more than eighteen (18) months from the date of the balance sheet submitted.

To request a prequalification application, please contact:

Finance Office
Becker-Hansen Building
700 East Broadway
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: (605) 773-3284

or

Bid Letting Office
Becker-Hansen Building
700 East Broadway
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: (605) 773-3275

or use the links above to download the applications on line. See applications for specific rules on submittal.

2. Identify and Select Projects

Review the descriptions and locations contained within the Notice To Contractors of projects recently advertised for bidding by SDDOT, noting the date which bids are due.

The Notice To Contractors is available to all interested parties three weeks prior to the Friday before letting on the Department's Web Site, just click here. Click on EBS Lettings and then choose a letting date from the list. If the information you are looking for is not listed, then it is not yet available - please check back later. For additional information, call the Bid Letting Office at (605) 773-3275 or email Sam.Weisgram@state.sd.us.

3. Requesting Proposals, Plans and Specifications

Prequalified Contractors may download bid files from the SDDOT Bid Letting website. Accessing bidding files, and signing in to the planholders list, will require obtaining a user ID and password from the SDDOT Bid Letting Engineer, (605) 773-3275. When logging in for the project of interest, the bidding contractor must indicate ‘bidding’ on the log-in screen. Bidding documents may be obtained until the date and time of letting as long as all contract requirements are met, including Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements, as required for the contract. There is no cost for downloading plans, proposals, Standard Specifications, or bid item files. Contractor information may be modified by updating the company data after logging into any project for the letting. Contractors will be required to register for digital signatures with a third-party bid repository company for submission of bids. Registration for digital signatures can be performed online at: http://certificate.usertrust.com/sddot . After filling in the online information, the contractor will be required to submit additional information to the third-party bid repository company for final registration. This process will take 7 to 10 days. Receiving a digital signature in adequate time prior to letting is the contractor’s responsibility. Failure to obtain a digital signature, in adequate time prior to letting, may be deemed sufficient reason to reject any proposal. Subcontractors and suppliers may obtain plans, proposals, and Standard Specifications in the same manner as bidding contractors. A userID and password will also be required for subcontractors and suppliers. When logging into the website, the log-in screen shall be marked as ‘non-bidding’.

Bidders are advised that any questions they may have prior to a letting concerning bid quantities, measurement and payment provisions, interpretation of plans and Specifications, or other similar matters, should be directed to the Operations Engineer, Phone (605) 773-3704. Early notification of errors will permit the Department to issue addenda prior to the letting clarifying any errors.

4. Bid Preparation

Bidding files require the use of the South Dakota Electronic Bidding System (SDEBS) which is downloadable from the Bid Letting website at http://www.sddot.com/pe/projdev/bidlet.asp . Bids shall be completed in their entirety utilizing the SDEBS.

Bids shall be submitted utilizing the SDEBS, and submitting to website as provided by the third-party bid repository company.

Voiding of proposals by the bidder will be disregarded by the Commission. Bidders may withdraw their bids from the third-party bid repository company website, prior to letting, utilizing the history screen on the website. The third-party bid repository company website may be accessed utilizing the digital signature through the SDEBS software. An ‘X’ is provided by each bid submitted for the removal of bids by the contractor prior to the date and time of letting. After that time, the contractor will no longer be allowed to remove bidding files from the third-party bid repository company website. Bidders may provide limitations of work to the Bid Letting Engineer prior to the time and date of bid opening. The bidder may state the total dollar volume of work or number of projects he will accept at this letting and the Department of Transportation will determine which project or projects shall be awarded to the bidder within the limits set by the bidder.

Bidders will be required to fill out the blank spaces in the bid file for each and every item where a bid is indicated Failure to properly carry out any of the above requirements may be deemed sufficient reason to reject any proposal. The total of any proposal, as determined by the bidder, will be used only for a comparison when such are publicly opened and read, any error noted in extension or totals will be corrected to determine the "Total or Gross Sum Bid" of any proposal.

The proposal guaranty required and which must accompany each proposal is a certified check, cashier's check or bank draft issued upon a National or State Bank, or a Bid Bond issued in accordance with the laws of South Dakota. Such guaranty shall be payable at sight to the Department of Transportation, State of South Dakota for the amount of NOT LESS THAN FIVE (5) PERCENT OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT BID. Bid bonds should be provided electronically in the SDEBS by utilizing Surety 2000, an electronic bid bond holding company. Registration with Surety 2000 is required by both the contractor and the bonding agent. Registration can be performed online at: www.surety2000.com. Paper copies of bonds will be accepted provided they are received by the Bid Letting office prior to the time and date of bid opening. Annual bonds are acceptable if the bond is made to the Department of Transportation. Renewal of annual bid bonds is the contractor’s responsibility. Bidders will please indicate on each check the project number to which the check applies. All Bid Bonds submitted with Joint Ventures must be made out in the name of all parties to the Joint Venture.

Bidders must execute the "Participation by Minority Contractors" or "Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Assurance" and "Contractors Affidavit/Declaration" included in the bidding files provided by the Department.