News Clips
Online Bidding - It's not a "Brave New World"
Scott Noble, Government Engineering, January-February 2008
When we use the figure of speech taken from Huxley's novel Brave New World, we are referring to a future that has uncertainty and an element of fear. So when we are embarking on implementing new information technology systems and new procedures for our staff, we often have some hesitation about how our work environment will change. Will we be more efficient? Can the costs be justified? Will our staff resist the changes? This is even truer when we have been extremely successful at managing the civil infrastructure. Why change what appears to be an efficient operation?
Internet Bidding: Iowa DOT Phases in Internet Bidding
Government Engineering, January-February 2005
The Jan/Feb '05 issue of Government Engineering features an article on Bid Express. This article speaks of two case studies (Wisconsin DOT and Iowa DOT) and contains more information about Bid Express and Expedite.
Online DOT Bidding Gaining Favor and Fans
Equipment World, November 2002
October 2000: Equipment World reported on the new world of online bidding for highway contractors and a system created by Info Tech, a company out of Gainesville, Florida. In the late 1990s the company launched Bid Express, a website where contractors could research bid lettings, download specs and information and submit bids online.
Contractors Warm to Internet Bidding; State Agencies See Results
March 2002
More and more state transportation agencies around the US are taking the leap over to Internet bidding and these organizations and the contractors that bid in their states are experiencing the associated benefits.
Contracting Goes Online: Electronic Systems Streamline Bidding and Letting
US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, January, 2002
The US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration recently released an informational flyer entitled "Contracting Goes Online: Electronic Systems Streamline Bidding and Letting." The flyer explains the benefits of online bidding and uses Trns•port Expedite and Bid Express as examples of the latest technology available.
States Turn Onto Web for Highway Bidding
ENR, February 26, 2001
Late one night last year, a Kentucky specialty contractor bidding a $2-million guardrail job in Georgia learned that one of its suppliers had dropped a key price. The bids were scheduled to be opened in just a few hours in Atlanta, and the contractor had to act fast. The company president didn't sweat it. He went on the Internet, recalled his bid, changed it and won the work.
The Internet Becomes a Bidding Tool
MRBA Interchange, a publication of the Michigan Road Builders Association, Fall 1999
There's a lot to be said for doing things the old fashioned way. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has decided that bidding on highway construction jobs is not one of them.
MDOT and Road Builders Preparing to Jump into the 21st Century with E-Bidding
MRBA Interchange, a publication of the Michigan Road Builders Association, Fall 1999
While the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the construction industry have been discussing electronic bidding for several years, it was not until recently that technological advances and acceptance of the private sector would allow it to become a reality.
Secure Online Bidding: Teaching the Old 'DOS' Some New Tricks
On The Road, the Official Magazine of the Georgia Highway Contractors Association, Summer/Fall 1999
It wasn't long ago that submitting bids to the Department of Transportation on Letting Day typically involved an overnight stay in Atlanta, with tedious handwritten unit prices and extensions. This ineffective exercise in arithmetic and penmanship has gone the way of the dodo, thanks to the forward thinking of the GDOT and the electronic age.