Bid go/no-go: track surfacing and ballast, Pine Subdivision and connecting lines

Bid decision for the Quillan Gap Rail Authority's 2027 surfacing and ballast program around Pine Crossing, PA. The recommendation is to keep pricing the job, but two issues decide it: the experience requirement in the bidder qualifications and the ballast quantity in the bid schedule. Both need answers before questions close on Nov 17.

IFB QGRA-26-014 dated Oct 28, 2026, six documentsPine Sub and three connecting lines, 18.7 track miles, 14 turnoutsBids due Dec 1, 2026, 2:00 PMPrepared Nov 5, 2026

Summary

Qualification · Instructions to Bidders

Experience requirement not met for 2025 on own contracts

Bidders must show at least 75 track miles of production surfacing in each of 2023 through 2025 on projects where they were the contractor (Instructions to Bidders, p. 9). Own contracts gave 65 track miles in 2025; adding 14 track miles as a subcontractor brings it to 79. Ask whether subcontract work counts, and line up a named surfacing subcontractor in parallel.

Quantity · Bid Schedule Item 5

Ballast quantity leaves out Main 2 on the Laurel Fork Sub

The bid schedule carries 5,800 tons of ballast. The spec rate of 400 tons per track mile over the 18.7 track miles in Attachment B gives 7,480 tons, 1,680 tons more (+29%). Item 5 is a plan-quantity item (Special Provisions, p. 17), so the $107,520 difference is ours unless it is priced.

Risk matrix · 15 risks

The four highest risks are all project-specific

General risks score 9 of 25 at most and are covered by the standard markup. Six project-specific risks beyond the two decisive issues add up to $103,000, 9.8% of the estimate.

Bid decision worksheet

Pick an answer to each decisive issue to see how the recommendation and the estimate change. Open a requirement to read the source text, or click a risk in the matrix for its rating, response and contingency.

Recommendation

    Estimate before contingency
    Unpriced quantity risk
    Project-specific contingency
    Until questions close on Nov 17
    Decisive issue 1 · Qualification

    Experience gate: 75 track miles of surfacing per year, 2023–2025

    Decisive issue 2 · Quantity

    Conflicting ballast quantity: bid schedule vs. specifications

    Requirements by area

    Status against our own capacity and the bid documents. Requirements tied to a decisive issue change with the answers above.

    Sources and method

    Sources

    • QGRA-26-014_Instructions_to_Bidders.pdfBid procedures, bidder qualifications, bonds and question deadline22 pages
    • QGRA-26-014_Special_Provisions.pdfPayment terms, plan-quantity items, liquidated damages, outage penalty and schedule31 pages
    • QGRA-26-014_Technical_Specifications_Track_Surfacing.pdfSurfacing method, ballast rate, tolerances and geometry testing24 pages
    • QGRA-26-014_Bid_Schedule.xlsxBid items with quantities and units8 items
    • Attachment_B_Work_Limits_and_Segments.xlsxSurfacing limits by line and track, turnouts6 segments, 14 turnouts
    • Attachment_D_Work_Windows_and_Haul_Routes.pdfTrack work windows by line and truck haul routes9 pages
    • Attachment_F_Environmental_Commitments.pdfWellhead protection, noise limits and engine requirements14 pages
    • Surfacing_Production_Log_2023-2025.xlsxOur production by contract, as contractor and as subcontractor41 contracts

    Method

    1. Read the Instructions to Bidders, Special Provisions, Technical Specifications, bid schedule and attachments, and sorted every requirement into five areas: contract terms, technical, environment and community, bidder qualifications and schedule.
    2. Rated each requirement against our own fleet, staff and production log as Met, Watch or Decisive.
    3. Recomputed the bid schedule quantities from the spec ballast rate and the Attachment B segments, segment by segment.
    4. Rated each risk for likelihood and impact from 1 to 5 and split the risks into project-specific ones, which come from these bid documents, and general ones, which come with any surfacing job.
    5. Priced the project-specific risks as their own contingency. General risks sit in the standard markup and are not priced one by one.

    Assumptions and limitations

    • The estimate is preliminary and uses our unit prices as of October 2026.
    • The 1,680-ton difference is priced at the same unit price, $64.00 per ton, including the extra ballast train trips.
    • Risk score is likelihood × impact: 15–25 high, 8–14 medium, 1–7 low.
    • How QGRA reads "the Bidder was the contractor" is still open. This worksheet does not predict the answer.
    • Contingency for project-specific risks is our judgment, not quotes.
    • Days until questions close are counted from the date prepared.