Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC

B-416073 May 24, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC (GLDD), of Oak Brook, Illinois, protests the award of a contract to Cashman/Dutra, JV (Cashman) under invitation for bids (IFB) No. W912WJ-18-B-0004, issued by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps), for dredging services in the Boston Harbor. GLDD alleges that the agency unreasonably evaluated the awardee's bid as satisfying the solicitation's definitive responsibility criteria and improperly conducted its affirmative responsibility determination, and further alleges that the internal government cost estimate (IGE) was unrealistically low. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC File:  B-416073 Date:  May 24, 2018 Paul R. Hurst, Esq., Kendall Enyard, Esq., Michael J. Navarre, Esq., and Caitlin T. Conroy, Esq., Steptoe & Johnson LLP, for the protester. Jonathan M. Baker, Esq., Christian N. Curran, Esq., and Lauren E. Harrison, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for Cashman/Dutra, JV, an intervenor. Kiersten Haugen, Esq., Kathleen Pendergast, Esq., and John Astley, III, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Todd C. Culliton, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest challenging agency’s evaluation of awardee’s bid under definitive responsibility criteria is denied where the record contained sufficient evidence that the awardee satisfied the criteria. 2.  Protest challenging agency’s affirmative responsibility determination is denied where the record does not show that the contracting officer ignored information in making the determination. 3.  Protest challenging the agency’s calculation of the independent government estimate is dismissed where the protester is not an interested party to maintain that allegation. DECISION Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC (GLDD), of Oak Brook, Illinois, protests the award of a contract to Cashman/Dutra, JV (Cashman) under invitation for bids (IFB) No. W912WJ‑18‑B‑0004, issued by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps), for dredging services in the Boston Harbor.  GLDD alleges that the agency unreasonably evaluated the awardee’s bid as satisfying the solicitation’s definitive responsibility criteria and improperly conducted its affirmative responsibility determination, and further alleges that the internal government cost estimate (IGE) was unrealistically low. We deny the protest. The IFB was issued on November 16, 2017, for the deepening and strategic widening of the Boston Harbor Federal Navigation Project to be completed over a 1,246-day period.  Agency Report (AR), Ex. 37 Specifications, § 01 11 00 at ¶ 1.1; IFB at 36.  The selected bidder would be required to dredge ordinary and hard material to various depths with the lowest depth being -51 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW).[1]  Id.  The selected bidder would also be required to meet three definitive responsibility criteria, discussed further below.  IFB at 35.  All bidders were required to submit their bids by January 29, 2018.  IFB, amend. 0007 at 1.  At bid opening, the agency received three bids, with Cashman bidding the lowest price and GLDD bidding the second lowest price.  The relevant bid prices and the IGE were as follows: Bidder Price Cashman $122,223,000 IGE $166,374,000 GLDD $218,855,500 AR, Ex. 16, Bid Abstract at 1.