Corps again reissues tender for tainter gate rehab at 130-MW Barkley

NASHVILLE, Tenn., U.S. 1/5/12 (PennWell) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers again reissued a solicitation for bids to repair and paint tainter gates at the 130-MW Barkley hydroelectric project on the Cumberland River in Kentucky. Bids now are due Jan. 18.

The Corps’ Nashville District previously announced it again would reissue a solicitation. Before that, it reissued a solicitation for the work, calling for bids Oct. 4 and Sept. 29 of 2011. In an earlier solicitation, it called for bids by July 20 and June 20. At that time, the work was to be set aside for Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses. The latest solicitation is set aside for the more general category of small businesses.

Barkley, in Lyon County, Ky., is among nine Corps hydropower plants on the Cumberland that a study found need as much as $470 million in repairs. The Corps awarded a contract to National Electric Coil in October to rewind generator No. 1 at Barkley.

The Corps now plans to seek bids from contractors to replace the worst of bent members, repair rusted web stiffeners, repair cracked weld connections, prepare surface and coat the 12 50- by 55-foot tainter gates. The contractor is to be responsible for disposing of materials removed from the gates, which are partially covered with coatings containing lead.

A solicitation notice may be obtained from the Federal Business Opportunities Internet site, www.fbo.gov, by entering solicitation No. W912P512B0001 in the “Keyword/Solicitation #” box.

Bids are due Jan. 18. For information, contact Ray Kendrick, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District, P.O. Box 1070, 801 Broad St., Nashville, TN 37202-1070; (1) 615-736-7932; E-mail: [email protected].