Construction

Construction Program Guide

Bid Analysis and Award of Contract

The FHWA's policies for bid analysis and award of construction contracts require the construction bids to be reviewed to determine:

• the degree of competition
• reasonableness of the low bid in comparison with the engineer's estimate
• the presence of mathematical or material unbalancing
• the presence of evidence regarding bid rigging

Laws

• 23 U.S.C. 112 Letting of Contracts (2015)

Regulations

• 23 CFR 635.114 Award of contract and concurrence in award (04/01/2013) Provides the FHWA's regulatory policy regarding the advertising for bids for construction contracts. (Note: this regulation was last updated on August 2, 1991 and does not include revised stewardship, oversight, and applicability requirements resulting from the 1991 ISTEA and the 1998 TEA-21. See the discussion in the FHWA Contract Administration Core Curriculum Manual for current FHWA policy).

Policy

• Procurement of Federal-aid Construction Projects (04/12/2024)
• Rejection of Unbalanced Bids (07/29/1987)
• Tennessee Special Provision (SP) Regarding Unbalanced Bids (07/10/1986)
• Bidding Procedures -- Negotiations with Bidders (06/23/1986)
• Deviation from Competitive Bidding Requirements (04/30/1985)

Guidance

• Guidelines on Preparing Engineer's Estimate, Bid Reviews and Evaluation (10/07/2021)
• Memo to Division Offices Response to OIG Recommendation (03/10,2025)

Information

• FHWA Contract Administration Core Curriculum Manual
• Final PY 2019 Core Question Guide (03/20/2018)
• FHWA Guidance Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) (April, 2017)
• Final PY 2018 Core Question Guide (04/27/2017)
• Legal and Economic Aspects Of Competitive Market Behavior Virginia Transportation Research Council
• Transportation Estimators’ Association

Training

• NHI 134077, FHWA Contract Administration Core Curriculum (Course Description (.pdf))
• NHI course #134205, Probabilistic Risk-based Estimating for Highway Project Cost and Schedule

Archive

• Bid Analysis and Unbalanced Bids (12/01/1988)
• Bid Analysis and Unbalanced Bids (05/16/1988)
• Review of Tabulation of Bid on Texas Project F-270, Medina County (05/28/1986)
• Bid Prices (10/25/1957)