This one's a letting, which is NJDOT's word for a bid opening, not a prequalification window. NJDOT opens bids at 10 a.m. on October 20 on Contract No. 001143540, DP No. 26125: the bridges that carry Chapel Drive (CR 623) and Griggstown Causeway (CR 632) over the D&R Canal in Franklin Township, Somerset County. NJDOT's estimated range is $10,000,001 to $20,000,000, and the estimated completion date is July 10, 2029. It carries a federal project number, F00S110.

Look at the principal items, because they tell you what kind of job this is: 1,800 LF of steel H-pile (HP 12 x 84), 500 LF of pile rock-socket, 255 CY of high-performance concrete bridge deck, two lump-sum temporary cofferdams and 310 tons of hot mix asphalt intermediate course. It's a pile-and-water job wearing a roadway number. Right of way is required, and the notice says there's no DBE or ESBE goal. NJDOT says the quantities are for information only, so check them against the plans.

Now, the gate. Bids are taken only from bidders classified under NJDOT's prequalification law, and only firms prequalified in work type 4 or 5 are eligible. On NJDOT's class code key, 4 is Bridge and 5 is Heavy Highway. Prequalification is its own application: Form DC-74A with a CPA-audited or reviewed financial statement and a $100 fee, and NJDOT says it accepts the form “via email” only. If your firm isn't prequalified in work type 4 or 5 by bid day, you're not priming this letting.

The rest of the entry fee, straight from the notice: you bid only through Bid Express, which charges fees for document downloads and bidding access. You must be registered with New Jersey's Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at the time of bid, and you acknowledge the state prevailing wage in your price. SAM.gov registration is checked before award, and so is New Jersey business registration for you and any named subs.

Here's the opening for a New York shop that isn't prequalified: the subcontract. NJDOT says that “except as stated in project specifications,” a contractor “does not have to be prequalified to do NJDOT subcontract work.” Pile, cofferdam and deck subs should be calling the prequalified primes now. The bid upload has to be in before 10 a.m. on October 20, and late bids aren't accepted.

On the record: Chapel Drive (CR 623) & Griggstown Causeway (CR 632), Bridges Over D&R Canal, Contract No. 001143540, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, issued by New Jersey Department of Transportation. Solicitation DP26125. Bids are due October 20, 2026 (Letting (bid opening) scheduled for 10/20/26.). The listing on NJDOT: https://dot.nj.gov/transportation/contribute/business/procurement/ConstrServ/documents/NOTICETOCONTRACTORS_DP26125.pdf. Full record on The RFI Wire's board: https://therfiwire.com/rfi/RFI-003036.html.