I was alerted by the local TV news, so the White House must have sent out a press release: the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted two formal bid solicitation documents requesting proposals for building a wall across the the US/Mexico border. BIG NEWS: the administration is asking for a 30 foot long, 30 foot high PROTOTYPE, to be build somewhere in San Diego. One of the solicitations is looking for a concrete prototype; the other is looking for alternative materials. The current RFP is actually asking for a 10 x 10 foot mock-up of the prototype.
The contract includes TEARING DOWN the prototype once it has been reviewed!
The documents were posted at 9:42 pm Friday evening, with a due date of Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 4 pm, a ten-day turnaround. I have seen this short time-frame in federal contracting occasionally, especially in cases where the government knows who is out there who can deliver the services they need, or where previous experience with the program is required.
The solicitations are what I would call pre-qualification requests, described in the document as Phase I of the bidding process. Proposers must submit a 10 page concept paper and qualifications statement, along with a Project Performance Statement and Summary Matrix, expected to be two pages. This first phase must be submitted by e-mail, so it can’t be too bulky. Don’t load it up with flyover videos of previous projects, you architects and builders out there! Among the issues they must address is their “experience executing high profile, high visibility and politically contentious design-build projects.”
Only 20 companies that pass Phase I will be asked to submit full proposals, including cost proposals. According to the timeline, these companies will have 30 days to submit a complete proposal. For companies with previous experience in federal contracting, that is a reasonable period for response. As is characteristic of federal solicitations, CBP says they will be accessible for questions.
The Scope of Work indicates that someone is thinking about the purpose of the wall. The specs include such eyebrow-raising items as:
- “Supporting tactical infrastructure and technology” such as video surveillance and ground sensors;
- The requirement that the wall design be “physically imposing in height,” from 18 to 30 feet tall;
- “Anti-climbing features”;
- The first 12 feet of the wall will need to be impermeable for at least 1-½ hours by persons using “sledgehammer, car jack, pick axe, chisel, battery operated impact tools, battery operated cutting tools, Oxy/acetylene torch or other similar hand-held tools.” Someone was thinking hard about how people might get through the wall, or knock it down;
- Design that prevents digging or tunneling at least six feet below the wall; and,
- “The north side of wall (i.e. U.S. facing side) shall be aesthetically pleasing in color, anti-climb texture, etc., to be consistent with general surrounding environment.” After all, a beautiful wall was promised!
The solicitations can be downloaded here and here. They are 132 pages long each, and look like the solicitations that come from the Veterans Administration and other federal departments, complete with the full list of typical federal requirements for bonding, wages, federal holidays, and Buy American.