Glass spheres for reflective traffic line pavement markings.

Location:	Kansas
Posted:	Dec 3, 2025
Due:	Jan 5, 2026
Agency:	Shawnee County
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	93 - Nonmetallic Fabricated Materials Z - Maintenance, Repair or Alteration of Real Property
Solicitation No:	072-25
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

(RFP)

Quotation Number: 072-25

Date Issued:

12-03-2025

Closing Date:

01-05-2026 2:00pm

Vendor Name: ______________________________

Address: ___________________________________

Phone Number:______________________________

THIS IS NOT AN ORDER

1. In communications, always refer to the above quotation number.

2. All prices and conditions must be shown. Additions or conditions not shown on this bid will not be

allowed.

3. Shawnee County reserve the right to accept or reject any part of, or all of, any bid or proposal.

4. All prices quoted are to be less Federal Excise Tax and Kansas Sales Tax.

5. Price quoted shall remain firm for the 2026 calendar year.

*SHAWNEE COUNTY HAS AN ELECTRONIC BID SYSTEM*

All vendors are required to create an online portal account (www.snco.gov/purchasing) in order to receive

or submit bid requests. All responses must be submitted through the bid portal.

ITEM AND DESCRIPTION

Shawnee County is soliciting bids for the 2026 purchase and delivery of 44,000 pounds of Glass

Spheres for Reflective Traffic Line Pavement Markings, as per the following minimum

specifications.

INFORMATION

This specification is to cover glass spheres for application to traffic line paint for the production of

reflective surface creating improved night visibility of the traffic line without altering daytime visibility of

the markings.

This specification is for glass spheres used in the drop-on type application to street, highway, curb and

median painted markings.

The glass spheres are to be manufactured from a composition designed to be highly resistant to traffic wear

and the effect of weathering.

DESCRIPTION:

Glass spheres shall be transparent spheres meeting the following requirements.

Page 1 of 10

REFRACTIVE INDEX:

The spheres shall have an average index of refraction not less than 1.50 when tested by the liquid

immersion method at 25 degrees centigrade.

SIZE

The glass spheres shall conform to the following graduation when tested according to ASTM D-1214:

U.S. Standard-Sieve No. 16

No. 40

No. 100

100% passing

40% - 60% passing

0% - 3% passing

IMPERFECT GLASS SPHERES:

The glass spheres shall not contain more than twenty (20) percent irregular particles when tested by ASTM

D-1155. Imperfect glass spheres are defined as spheres which are ovate or otherwise non-spherical in

shape, two or more beads fused together, opaque spheres or pitted spheres.

MOISTURE RESISTANCE:

Spheres shall pass the “Free Flow Test”.

REQUIRED APPARATUS:

Standard one-pint screw cap mason jars: With two piece covers consisting of a flat cover plate with sealing

gasket attached and a crew ring to hold the cover plate on the jar.

Special sixty-degree brass funnel with four-inch stem: Inside diameter of the stem shall be

0.25 inches plus or minus 0.004 inches. The top of the funnel shall be soldered to one of the screw rings

from a jar so that the funnel can be screwed to the top of the jar. The inside surface of the funnel shall be

kept polished smooth.

Measuring pipette, Mohr Type, Capacity 0.100 ml: Graduation lines at intervals of 1/100 ml.

PROCEDURES:

Using a sample splitter, obtain a representative 300-gram sample of the spheres. Transfer the sample to one

of the one-pint fruit jars and place the uncovered jar and sample in an air oven at 105 to 110 degrees

centigrade for sixteen hours. Remove the jar from the oven and immediately seal it with one of the jar

cover plates and screw ring. Allow cooling to room temperature. If, after cooling, the spheres have stuck

together forming lumps, shake the jar violently until all lumps are broken up. This must be done without

removing the cover.

After breaking up lumps, remove the cover and quickly add 0.090 ml. of distilled water from the measuring

pipette. Immediately seal the jar with the cover and screw ring and shake jar and contents violently for

twenty seconds. Let stand for four hours; shake and tumble the spheres in the sealed jar for twenty seconds

at the end of the first, second and third hour of standing. At the end of the fourth hour, without shaking,

remove the cover and quickly screw the special funnel to the top of the jar. Invert the jar and support it in a

vertical position. The spheres shall flow from the jar through the stem of the funnel. It is permissible to tap

the funnel to start the flow; but if it is necessary to keep tapping the funnel to keep the spheres flowing,

they do not pass the test. A small amount of spheres sticking to the sides of the jar or lying on the jar

shoulder shall not be cause for rejection.

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PACKAGING, SAMPLING, TESTING AND SHIPPING

PACKAGING:

All spheres shall be packed in 50-pound paper bag containers having leak-proof, moisture proof liners.

Pallet deliveries shall have 40 each of the 50-pound bags and be shrink- wrapped.

TESTING:

A sample will be taken and tested out of each 90 bags received by Shawnee County. Each sample tested

must comply with the above specifications or the bidder will be charged to cover cost of testing for each

sample that fails to meet the specifications and will cause rejection of that sample.

DELIVERY:

FOB SHAWNEE COUNTY TRAFFIC DIVISION

135 NE 46TH ST. TOPEKA, KS 66617

RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

Responses should assume that the county has had no previous knowledge of their products, services or

capabilities. Emphasis should be placed on a clear complete presentation of factual information. They

should include the following:

Attachment 1

Signed Bid Form

PLEASE SUBMIT ATTACHMENT 1 AS THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR BID

BID RESPONSE

Document Information: The bid portal will only allow one PDF document uploaded for a response. It is

your responsibility to make sure the uploaded file is the correct, complete and contains all required

information and signatures. The document file name should only contain spaces and letters or numbers,

please do not use special characters or dashes. The file can be changed until the bid close time.

Closing Date: Bids will be received until 2:00 p.m. CDT on the scheduled closing date. The online bid

portal will not accept any new bids after this time.

Signature of Bids: Each bid must show in the space provided the complete business or mailing address of

the bidder and must be signed by him/her with his/her usual signature.

Withdrawal of Bids: Bids already submitted may be withdrawn on the Electronic Bid System or upon

proper identification of bidder and provided request is received prior to time of closing. Negligence on the

part of the bidder in preparing the bid confers no right for the withdrawal after the time set for closing of

bids.

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Submitting Multiple Bids: The online bid portal will only allow one file to be uploaded per bid, per

company. If you are submitting multiple bids, please complete the Multiple Bids Cover Page and attach as

the first page of your bid upload. The document can be found under Purchasing in the bid portal.

to record you as an attendee. If you are not marked as attended, the system will not allow you to upload a

bid response. To receive automatic updates on RFP subscribe to the bid types. If a RFP has a mandatory pre

bid meeting it will be clearly marked on the RFP and in the bid portal.

Please Submit Your Bids Early: In case you have problems getting your bid to upload and need assistance,

we suggest you submit before 1:30 pm. Please contact us at once if you have issues uploading. Our system

will not allow any bids to be uploaded after 2:00 pm. If your pricing changes, you can replace your bid in

the system any time before the 2:00 closing.

Bid Openings: All bids submitted before the specified bid closing time shall be opened and properly

recorded on the bid tabulation sheet. Subsequent to the bid opening, all bids shall be thoroughly evaluated

and a determination made as to their compliance with applicable specifications. The appropriate County

department head shall make this determination. Upon completion of the above determination, an analysis of

all bids submitted shall be prepared and formally presented to the Board of County Commissioners for

acceptance and approval of the lowest and/or best bid. The Board of County Commissioners reserves the

right to accept or reject any and/or all bids and to waive any irregularities or informalities therein.

Notice to Successful Bidders: The successful bidder will be notified by email or telephone as soon as

possible after bids have been opened, tabulated, and analyzed.

Notice to Unsuccessful Bidders: Unsuccessful bidders will not be notified.

Disclosure of Proposal Content and Proprietary Information: All proposals become the property of the

Shawnee County. The Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-215 et seq) of the State of Kansas requires public

information be placed in the public domain at the conclusion of the selection process, and be available for

examination by all interested parties. No proposals shall be disclosed until after a contract award has been

issued. Shawnee County reserves the right to destroy all proposals if the RFP is withdrawn, a contract award

is withdrawn, or in accordance with Kansas law. The online bid portal will not accept late proposals.

How to include Proprietary Information in your proposal: Trade secrets or proprietary

information legally recognized as such and protected by law may be requested to be withheld if

clearly labeled "Proprietary" on each individual page and provided in a clearly marked and separated

with the Proprietary Divider page, section within the pdf file uploaded to the online bid portal. Only

one file is allowed to be uploaded to the bid portal. Pricing information is not considered proprietary

and the bidder's entire proposal response package will not be considered proprietary.

Proprietary Divider Page: This document is available to be downloaded in the bid portal

underneath the Purchasing section.

All information requested to be handled as "Proprietary" shall be submitted in the separate section

from the main proposal and clearly labeled and section off by the divider page. The bidder shall

provide detailed written documentation justifying why this material should be considered

"Proprietary". Shawnee County reserves the right to accept, amend or deny such requests for

maintaining information as proprietary in accordance with Kansas law.

Shawnee County does not guarantee protection of any information which is not submitted as required.

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DEMANDSTAR POSTINGS

Demandstar Website: Shawnee County open projects are posted on Demandstar as a secondary posting.

Demandstar tracks broadcast and plan holder data. Bids must be submitted through the Shawnee County Bid

Portal.

Shawnee County Bid Portal: When an open project is posted, Shawnee County is not able to track who

downloads project information off the bid portal website. Bids must be submitted through the Shawnee

County Bid Portal to be considered. All projects are posted on the County website, not all projects are posted

on the Demandstar website. Registration is free.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In the event that goods or services delivered by the vendor are unsatisfactory and remain unsatisfactory after

a notice and an opportunity to correct the deficiencies, the County reserves the right to purchase substitute

goods or services from the other bidders.

Shawnee County reserves the right to negotiate separately with any vendor after the opening of this RFP

when such action is considered in its best interest. Subsequent negotiations may be conducted, but such

negotiations will not constitute acceptance, rejection or a counteroffer on the part of the County.

Shawnee County interprets the term “lowest responsible and best bidder” as requiring Shawnee County to:

A. Choose between the kinds of materials, goods, wares, or services subject to the proposal, and

B. Determine which proposal is most suitable for its intended use or purpose. Shawnee County can

consider among other factors such things as labor cost, service and parts availability and maintenance

costs of items upon which proposals are received. Shawnee County can determine any differences or

variations in the quality or character of the material, goods, wares or services performed or provided by

the respective vendors.

Shawnee County will award the bid. If the successful vendor refuses or fails to make deliveries of the

materials/services within the times specified in the RFP, purchase order or contractual agreement, Shawnee

County may by written notice, terminate the contract OR purchase order. The successful vendor will certify

and warrant that goods, personal property, chattels, and equipment sold and delivered are free and clear of

any and all liens, or claims of liens, for materials or services arising under, and by virtue of the provisions of

K.S.A. 58-201, et seq., and any other lien, right, or claim of any nature or kind whatsoever.

The vendor hereby certifies that he or she has carefully examined all of the documents for the project, has

carefully and thoroughly reviewed this RFP, understands the nature and scope of the work to be done; and

that this proposal is based upon the terms, specifications, requirements and conditions of the RFP, and

documents. The vendor further agrees that the performance time specified is a reasonable time, having

carefully considered the nature and scope for the project as aforesaid.

Shawnee County reserves the right to enter into agreements subject to the provisions of the Cash Basis Law

(K.S.A. 10-1112 and 10-1113), the Budget Law (K.S.A.79-2935). Agreements shall be construed and

interpreted so as to ensure that the County shall at all times stay in conformity with such laws, and as a

condition of agreements the County reserves the right to unilaterally sever, modify, or terminate agreement

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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Request	Department	Description	Due Date
072-25	Public Works	Glass spheres for reflective traffic line pavement markings.	1/5/2026 2:00 PM

Glass spheres for reflective traffic line pavement markings.

Attachment Preview

See also