Two-way electronic bidding is on the rise as more and more states implement AASHTO’s Trns•port Expedite™ software and Info Tech’s Bid Express™ service into their systems. The electronic bidding system is a significant milestone in improving the bid letting process and making it easier and less costly for both contractors and the DOT.

The Georgia DOT began accepting bids for construction proposals over the Internet in September 1999. With eight production Internet bid lettings under its belt, GADOT is seeing voluntary Internet bid submission rates increase significantly. Of the bids submitted for the March 17, 2000 letting, 58 percent were received over the Internet. Lem Dobbs, GADOT State Transportation Office Engineer, can attest to the direct cost savings realized by the DOT.

"After the January letting, I received a call from a contractor in Kentucky, who had bid over the Internet on a guard rail project," Dobbs said. "The contractor told me that he had received a quote the morning of the letting that resulted in a significant reduction in his bid. He was able to resubmit his bid over the Internet the morning of the letting. This contractor turned out to be the low bidder and was awarded the contract. He would have never been able to get to Atlanta from Kentucky in time to resubmit that bid. With this system he was able to do that and in the process saved the tax payers of the state of Georgia a significant amount of money."

Other states are joining Georgia on the Internet bid submission bandwagon.

Iowa has the most Bid Express contractor subscribers of any state. The Iowa DOT has been using Bid Express in a production mode, without Internet bid submission, since April 1999. As of March 2000, Iowa has completed one "dummy" two-way Internet letting and one parallel letting.

According to Roger Bierbaum, Contracts Engineer, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa contractors are very interested in being able to do paperless bid submission over the Internet.

"Contractors have been telling me they want the option to submit bids electronically," Bierbaum said. "That way they are able to prepare their bid in their office, rather than having to pay for taking a group of estimators and a half dozen computers to a hotel room to prepare their bids."

Iowa is moving forward with Internet bid submission. At least one more parallel two-way Internet letting is scheduled for this spring. Two-way production is scheduled for this summer.

A number of states are evaluating Internet bid submission by doing pilot programs. Michigan Department of Transportation is currently using Bid Express in a pilot evaluation mode. The staff has successfully performed two "dummy" lettings, and their electronic bidding team is planning on scheduling an additional letting for later this spring.

"Michigan is interested in exploring Bid Express and we are definitely interested in two-way Internet bid submission," said Wayne E. Roe, Jr., Administrator, Financial Services Division, Bureau of Finance and Administration at the Michigan DOT. "The testing in Michigan has been successful so far. The Michigan contractors and the DOT are very much looking forward to the possibility of doing Internet bid submission in the future."

Other states evaluating Internet bid submission are South Carolina, in one-way Bid Express production since December 1998, and Tennessee, which is implementing an evaluation pilot this spring. Wisconsin is the first state to use Bid Express and has been using it since 1997. The staff has announced the intention to do Internet bid submission later this fall. New Mexico is currently performing a one-way pilot and considering two-way Internet bid submission either later this year or early 2001.

For more information about Bid Express or Expedite software, contact Info Tech, Inc. at (352) 381-4400 or send an e-mail inquiry to info@infotechfl.com.