Dept of Transportation, Bridge Strike Prevention and Detection

Location:	South Dakota
Posted:	Feb 16, 2025
Due:	Mar 29, 2025
Agency:	State Government of South Dakota
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	V - Transportation, Travel and Relocation Services
Solicitation No:	25RFP13530
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

Event ID:	25RFP13530
Event Name:	Dept of Transportation, Bridge Strike Prevention and Detection
Published Date:	Feb 15, 2025, 05:44 AM KT
Event Due Date:	Mar 29, 2025, 07:00 AM KT
Invitation Type:	Invitation Only
Status:	Ready for Responses

Event ID: 25RFP13530

Published:

Feb 15, 2025
05:44 AM KT

Due Date:

Mar 29, 2025
07:00 AM KT

Award Date:

Q&A Cutoff Date:

Feb 15, 2025
06:42 AM KT

Invitation Type: Invitation Only

Event Description

Problem Description: As the number of large loads increases in South Dakota, the risk of collisions with

bridges is also rising. Bridge strikes can lead to unexpected costs and safety hazards. The traveling public

may experience significant consequences from these incidents, including fatal or severe injuries, detours

and delays, and rerouting of heavy loads due to reduced structural capacity.

To prevent bridge strikes, transportation agencies take measures ranging from passive signing of warnings

or clearance heights and widths, to physical barriers placed prior to the bridge, to active warning systems

that detect vehicle heights and widths, warn drivers via flashing beacons, digital message signs, or in-cab

notifications, and alert the agency’s operations center. Other agencies have attempted to protect bridges

with sacrificial energy-absorbing materials applied to the structure. The applicability and effectiveness of

these measures depend on factors such as bridge characteristics, road geometry, sight distance, traffic

volume, travel speed, bypass opportunity, and others.

Detecting actual bridge strikes is essential to incident response, assessing structural damage, initiating

repair, and identifying motor carriers financially responsible for damage. Some agencies have deployed

systems that detect strikes, capture imagery of the vehicle involved, and transmit information to an

operations center.

Because the cost of installing, maintaining, and operating advanced bridge strike warning and detection

systems preclude their use at every bridge, agencies must decide what measures are necessary and cost-effective

at individual bridges. Based on the characteristics of the structure, the likelihood of a strike, the

possible level of damage and impact on transportation due to a strike, and the expected effectiveness of the

measures to be deployed.

The findings of NCHRP Research 08-139, Guide for Preventing and Mitigating the Risk of Bridge and Tunnel

Strikes by Motor Vehicles, will help guide this research for South Dakota. South Dakota also has oversized

vehicle permit data available, which can be used to identify routes with the highest frequency of permitted

oversized loads.

Proposal Deadline: Proposals are due to the SDDOT by 5:00 pm CDT on Friday, March 28, 2025. This

deadline is firm. Extensions will not be granted.

Proposals must be submitted as an e-mail attachment in Portable Document Format (PDF) not exceeding

14MB. The email must be addressed to andy.vandel@state.sd.us and danny.doorn@state.sd.us.

Proposers should send the e-mail using “Delivery Receipt” and “Read Receipt” options to verify successful

delivery.

Proposal Guidelines: Proposals must fulfill the requirements listed in the document entitled RESEARCH

PROPOSAL PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION and dated October 28, 2022.

Proposal Evaluation: Proposals will be evaluated by a technical panel knowledgeable in the problem area.

Selection will be made in consideration of criteria listed in RESEARCH PROPOSAL PREPARATION,

SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION.

Project Management: Danny Doorn is responsible for the management of this project and can be reached

at danny.doorn@state.sd.us to answer inquiries.

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