2004 Specifications CSJ 6216-60-001 SPECIAL SPECIFICATION 7581 Performance Based Vegetation Management 1. Description. This item will govern for complete vegetation management of highway rightof-way, including all the existing appurtenances and future additions within the right-ofway. This includes, but is not limited to, main lane roadways, frontage roads, shoulders, ramps, intersections, roadsides, etc. 2. General. It is the intent of this specification that the Department is relieved of all duties traditionally performed by the Department in managing the vegetation within highway rights-of-way except as noted in this Item. It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that they are completely aware of the traditional functions of the Department. A. Department Standards. Unless otherwise approved by the Engineer, work performed and materials used under this contract will conform to the latest version of all applicable Department manuals, standards, specifications, statewide special specifications and special provisions, policies and procedures and their addenda. These include, but are not limited to, the following, which are available online: 1. Maintenance Management Manual; 2. Roadside Vegetation Management Manual; 3. Herbicide Operations Manual; 4. Departmental Traffic Control Standard Sheets; 5. Texas Standard Specifications for Construction and Maintenance of Highways, Streets and Bridges; 2004 and applicable Special Provisions and Special Specifications. 6. Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (TMUTCD); 7. Material Producer List; 8. Maintenance Operations Manual; 9. Use of Right of Way by Others Manual; 10. TxDOT s Environmental Impact Statement- Roadside Pest Management Program B. Coordination. Ensure that proper coordination exists with other Contractors, cities, counties, state and local law enforcement, utilities, fire departments, medical facilities and other state and federal agencies, etc. 1-10 7581
C. Highway Lane Closures. Lane closures will not be allowed without approval of the Engineer. D. Work Schedules and Plans. Submit a weekly work plan for approval by the Engineer. This work plan and schedule will include all scheduled work in the time period and will be on a form as approved by the Engineer. E. Complaints/Service Requests. Report monthly, on a format approved by the Engineer, information on any complaints or service requests received from the public, cities, counties, etc., from the previous month. This information will include, as a minimum, the following: a. The date and time of the complaint; b. The location of the problem; c. The nature of the complaint; d. Who made the complaint; and e. Date, time and action taken to address the complaint. f. Any action taken by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) or Texas Structural Pest Control Service g. Any legislative contact will be immediately directed to the Director of Operations for response. 3. Materials. Furnish all materials necessary to complete the work unless otherwise noted. Furnish the Engineer with documentation indicating material compliance with Department specifications. 4. License Requirements. Possess the appropriate qualifications and/or licenses. Applicators will possess a license issued by the TDA, as a commercial pesticide applicator within the Right-of-Way usage category and to apply herbicide within the transportation system. Provide the Department with documentation of licenses prior to the beginning of work. Licensed personnel will be responsible for mixing, transporting, handling, spraying, and disposal of materials. All Contractor or subcontractor personnel will be appropriately licensed for specialized work. 5. Equipment. Furnish all equipment, tools and machinery necessary for the proper prosecution of the work. Spray equipment shall be in good operationing condition and calibrated to deliver a spray solution of 20 to 40 gallons/acre. Periodic checks shall be made to ensure that the equipment is delivering the calibrated spray solution. 6. Scope of Work. Perform all work required to manage and maintain the vegetation on the highway roadside and appurtenances excluding only those items of work listed in Section 6.A, "Items Excluded from the Contract. This includes all maintenance required to ensure the highway system is kept in its designed and constructed or updated condition. Repair any damage caused by the Contractor at no additional cost to the department. 2-10 7581
A. Items Excluded from the Contract. Picnic Areas, unless otherwise noted in the plans, are excluded from the contract. B. Traffic Control Plans. Perform work in conformance with the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (TMUTCD) and the Traffic Control Standard Sheets. C. Performance Standards. Listed below are performance standards, which will be utilized to schedule work. The safety of the traveling public is of the utmost importance and will take priority over any other work. Other work will be scheduled as soon as possible. The Department will inspect and/or evaluate the work. 1. Roadside Vegetation Maintenance Mowing and Trimming Mow the areas designated on the plans at a uniform height. o Mow to keep the height of vegetation between 5 in. and 24 in. in areas designated as urban on the plans, unless otherwise noted. o Mow to keep the height of vegetation between 7 in. and 30 in. in areas designated as rural on the plans. Spot mow at intersections, ramps, cable barriers or other areas as needed or when directed by the Engineer to maintain sight distance and visibility of appurtenances. A full width mowing cycle will be in the fall of each year or as directed by the Engineer. Wildflowers will be preserved utilizing the guidelines in the mowing specifications and vegetation management manuals. Trim around all appurtenances and trees. Bare Ground Vegetation Control and Weed Control Utilize only the herbicides and procedures listed in the Herbicide Operations Manual to control weeds, brush and to eliminate grass in pavement or concrete. The Contractor will follow the Department s herbicide program as shown in the Herbicide Operations Manual. Do not allow vegetation to encroach into or on paved shoulders, main lanes, sidewalks, islands, riprap, traffic barrier or curbs. Chemical edging will be required except for curbed sections, where mechanical edging will be allowed. Herbicides will be sprayed within the managed portion of the right of way to control noxious and tall growing vegetation that are listed in the Herbicide Operations Manual. Application records will be kept on all pesticide applications. Herbicide application records and proof of purchases for all herbicides will be submitted to the Engineer weekly. A complete set of records and proof of purchases will be submitted annually from date of contract initiation. Tree and Brush Control 3-10 7581
Trim trees and brush to ensure they do not interfere with vehicles, sight distance, or inhibit the visibility of signs or intersections. Remove dead trees, brush, and branches on the right-of-way, as soon as possible, but no longer than 1 month. Control small brush within the managed portion of the right of way, excluding non-mow areas, as directed in the Herbicide Operations Manual. 7. Contractor Performance. Non-performance Procedure. The deductions/reductions listed below are not liquidated damages but are for the delivery of a lower than expected level of service by the Contractor. A. The Department will notify the Contractor of a performance standard, as shown in Section 6.C., Performance Standards, that has not been met. If the Performance Standard is not met within seven days, the Contractor will be charged $3,000 every day thereafter (including Saturdays, Sunday and holidays), per item of work, per standard until the standard is met. The costs associated with these measures will be deducted from any monies due the Contractor. In addition, the Department may take steps to have the work corrected. This may include the use of State Forces or Emergency Contracts. Once the Contractor is notified that the Department is taking corrective action, the Contractor will refrain from performing work on the item in question, unless approved by the Engineer. The costs associated with these measures will be deducted from any monies due the Contractor. B. Formal Condition Assessment: The Department will perform random formal condition assessments monthly. Each assessment will be performed on at least 10% of the length of all roadways including frontage roads and main lanes. Sections to be inspected will be selected randomly in approximately one mile length segments. Table 1 shows the required minimum standards and the incentive and disincentive compensation that will be made per month when the standards are assessed. Maintain a minimum overall score of 80%. The contractor will be notified of all evaluations below the standard after a review by the Engineer. An evaluation with a weighted overall score of less than 80% will result in disincentive payments. An evaluation with a weighted overall score of 90% or more will result in incentive payments. The payments will be calculated as shown below, by taking the monthly payment and reducing or increasing the payment by the corresponding percentage. These percentages are calculated using Priority Multipliers which assign more weight to those activities designated by the Engineer to be more important to this work. The Priority Multipliers are shown in the EXAMPLE CALCULATION OF WEIGHTED SCORE charts shown below, and these will not change during the course of the contract. Incentives will apply only to the months of May through October and disincentives apply all year. 4-10 7581
Table 1. Incentives and Disincentives Desirable Acceptable Needs Needs Needs Score 90 or Greater 80 to ¹LT 90 70 to LT 80 60 to LT 70 LT 60 Incentive May to Oct. +15% NONE NONE NONE NONE Disincentive All Year NONE NONE -15% -25% -40% ¹LT - Less Than Listed below is the Formal Assessment inspection form, an example of the scoring sheet and the scoring criteria for each of the elements Table 1 Formal Assessment Inspection Form District/Maintenance Section Assessment No. County Inspection No. Highway Inspection Reference Marker Inspector Date Accompanied By Time Element Rating Comment Vegetation Management Mowing/Trimming Bare Ground Vegetation Control Weed Control Tree and Brush Control Note: Ratings are based upon the following: Good - New or like new, Acceptable - No work needed, Needs - as shown in the performance measures. 5-10 7581
Vegetation Mgmt (VM) Elements EXAMPLE CALCULATION OF WEIGHTED SCORE Element Avg. Element Score Priority (Sum of ratings/ (Element Multiplier # of sections) Avg*20) Weighted Element Score (Element Score * Priority Multiplier) Mowing/Trimming 3.8¹ 76 5 380 Bare Ground 3.7 74 5 370 Vegetation Control Weed Control 4.0 80 7 560 Tree and Brush Control 3.7 74 3 222 Total=20 Total=1,532 WEIGHTED OVERALL SCORE = 1532 20 = 76.6 ¹Average based on rating one mile length sections of highway. Example if contract has 1000 center line miles the 10% sample size would yield 100 one-miles sections rated. The average rating shown is 3.8 for mowing and trimming. This average score is determined by multiplying 20 by the rating of 1 to 5. Ratings are shown in the Scoring System. Note: Weighted Overall Score = 76.6 Total disincentive = -15% of monthly payment Vegetation Mgmt (VM) Elements EXAMPLE CALCULATION OF WEIGHTED SCORE Element Avg. Element Score Priority (Sum of ratings/ (Element Avg*20) Multiplier # of sections) Weighted Element Score (Element Score * Priority Multiplier) Mowing/Trimming 4.8 96 5 480 Bare Ground 4.5 90 5 450 Vegetation Control Weed Control 5.0 100 7 700 Tree and Brush Control 4.6 92 3 276 Total=20 Total=1,906 Note: Weighted Overall Score = 95.3 Total Incentive = 15% of monthly payment WEIGHTED OVERALL SCORE = 1906 20 = 95.3 6-10 7581
Scoring System Ratings are based upon the following conditions for each randomly selected one mile long section: Component Good Acceptable Needs Needs Vegetation Maintenance 5 4 3 2 1 Rating Equivalent 100 80 60 40 20 Score Mowing and Trimming All vegetation maintained at a uniform height of between the specified minimum and 12 All vegetation maintained within the height range specified in contract. No roostertails present. 80% or more of vegetation maintained within the height range specified in contract. 60-79% of vegetation maintained within the height range specified in contract Needs Less than 60%of vegetation maintained within the height range specified in contract. Bare Ground Vegetation Control (paved shoulders, main lanes, sidewalks, islands, riprap, traffic barrier and curbs) Weed Control Tree & Brush Control (within mowing area) No more than five Plants of vegetation in pavement or concrete. No more than five plants of weeds in right of way. Weeds do not obstruct view of fixtures or sight distance from roadway. No more than five plants of brush. Trees do not interfere with vehicles, sight distance, or inhibit the visibility of signs. Six to ten plants of actively growing vegetation in pavement or concrete. Six to ten plants of actively growing weeds in right of way. Weeds do not obstruct view of fixtures or sight distance from roadway. Six to ten plants per center line mile of actively growing brush. Trees do not interfere with vehicles, sight distance, or inhibit the visibility of signs. Eleven to fifteen plants of actively growing vegetation in pavement or concrete. Eleven to fifteen plants of actively growing weeds in right of way. Weeds do not obstruct view of fixtures or sight distance from roadway. Eleven to fifteen plants per center line mile of brush. Trees do not interfere with vehicles, sight distance, or inhibit the visibility of signs. Sixteen to twenty plants of actively growing vegetation in pavement or concrete. Sixteen to twenty plants of actively growing weeds in right of way. Weeds obstruct view of fixtures or sight distance from roadway. Sixteen to twenty plants per center line mile of brush. Trees interfere with vehicles, sight distance, or inhibit the visibility of signs. More than twenty plants of vegetation in pavement or concrete More than twenty plants of weeds in right of way. Weeds obstruct view of fixtures or sight distance from roadway. Complete vegetation kill around fixtures or significant herbicide damage to desirable vegetation. More than twenty plants of brush growing in solid stands obstructing signs, fixtures, or sight distance. Trees interfere with vehicles, sight distance, or inhibit the visibility of signs. 7-10 7581
8. Measurement. This Item will be measured by the "Lump Sum" as the work progresses. 9. Payment. The work performed and materials furnished in accordance with this Item and measured as provided under "Measurement" will be paid for in partial payments in accordance with the following schedule, utilizing the unit price bid for "Performance Based Vegetation Management. This price will be full compensation for this work and for furnishing all labor, equipment, materials, fuel, tools, disposal of removed materials and incidentals necessary to complete the work for a 36 month period. Payment Schedule. Monthly payments will be made by multiplying the "Lump Sum" bid by the payment schedule percentage from table 2 and deducting any amounts as indicated above under "Contractor Performance. Table 2 Payment Schedule Month Payment Schedule Cumulative Payment Cumulative Time 1 2.8% 2.8% 2.78% 2 2.8% 5.6% 5.56% 3 2.8% 8.4% 8.33% 4 2.8% 11.2% 11.11% 5 2.8% 14.0% 13.89% 6 2.8% 16.8% 16.67% 7 2.8% 19.6% 19.44% 8 2.8% 22.4% 22.22% 9 2.8% 25.2% 25.00% 10 2.8% 28.0% 27.78% 11 2.8% 30.8% 30.56% 12 2.8% 33.6% 33.33% 13 2.8% 36.4% 36.11% 14 2.8% 39.2% 38.89% 15 2.8% 42.0% 41.67% 16 2.8% 44.8% 44.44% 17 2.8% 47.6% 47.22% 18 2.8% 50.4% 50.00% 19 2.8% 53.2% 52.78% 20 2.8% 56.0% 55.56% 21 2.8% 58.8% 58.33% 22 2.8% 61.6% 61.11% 23 2.8% 64.4% 63.89% 24 2.8% 67.2% 66.67% 25 2.8% 70.0% 69.44% 26 2.8% 72.8% 72.22% 27 2.8% 75.6% 75.00% 28 2.8% 78.4% 77.78% 29 2.7% 81.1% 80.56% 30 2.7% 83.8% 83.33% 31 2.7% 86.5% 86.11% 32 2.7% 89.2% 88.89% 33 2.7% 91.9% 91.67% 8-10 7581
Month Payment Schedule Cumulative Payment Cumulative Time 34 2.7% 94.6% 94.44% 35 2.7% 97.3% 97.22% 36 2.7% 100.0% 100.00% 10. Contract Extension. If agreed upon in writing by both parties to the contract, the contract may be renewed for one additional like period of time. The State may permit a price increase or decrease when correlated with the price index specified herein. Unless otherwise indicated, the price index will be the specified index as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C. 20212. The baseline index will be the index announced for the month in which the bids opened. Prices may be adjusted for each renewal period in accordance with changes in index. The allowable percent change will be calculated by subtracting the baseline index from the index announced for the month in which the renewal option is exercised and dividing the result by the baseline index. The allowable percent change will be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent and will be the maximum price adjustment permitted, except that the Contractor may offer price decreases in excess of the allowable percent change. Price increases for the first and second extension periods will be based on the CPI-W. Either party to this contract may request a revised pay schedule for the contract extension, and if executed by change order, will replace the following: 1 st Renewal Payment Schedule. Monthly payments will be made by multiplying the revised "Lump Sum" bid by the payment schedule percentage from table 3 and deducting any amounts as indicated above under "Contractor Performance." Table 3 Payment Schedule (1 st Contract Extension) Month Payment Schedule Renewal Cumulative Cumulative Time Payment 37 2.8% 2.8% 51.39% 38 2.8% 5.6% 52.78% 39 2.8% 8.4% 54.17% 40 2.8% 11.2% 55.56% 41 2.8% 14.0% 56.94% 42 2.8% 16.8% 58.33% 43 2.8% 19.6% 59.72% 44 2.8% 22.4% 61.11% 45 2.8% 25.2% 62.50% 46 2.8% 28.0% 63.89% 47 2.8% 30.8% 65.28% 48 2.8% 33.6% 66.67% 49 2.8% 36.4% 68.06% 50 2.8% 39.2% 69.44% 51 2.8% 42.0% 70.83% 52 2.8% 44.8% 72.22% 53 2.8% 47.6% 73.61% 54 2.8% 50.4% 75.00% 9-10 7581
Month Payment Schedule Renewal Cumulative Payment Cumulative Time 55 2.8% 53.2% 76.39% 56 2.8% 56.0% 77.78% 57 2.8% 58.8% 79.17% 58 2.8% 61.6% 80.56% 59 2.8% 64.4% 81.94% 60 2.8% 67.2% 83.33% 61 2.8% 70.0% 84.72% 62 2.8% 72.8% 86.11% 63 2.8% 75.6% 87.50% 64 2.8% 78.4% 88.89% 65 2.7% 81.1% 90.28% 66 2.7% 83.8% 91.67% 67 2.7% 86.5% 93.06% 68 2.7% 89.2% 94.44% 69 2.7% 91.9% 95.83% 70 2.7% 94.6% 97.22% 71 2.7% 97.3% 98.61% 72 2.7% 100.0% 100.00% 10-10 7581