Project Description: This is a request for bids for trails design (not build-as it has to go through NEPA first) in the Righthand Fork-area of Logan Canyon, Utah. This connector trail will add huge value to the trail system in this area as it will keep non-motorized users off the busy mountain roads and provide a great single-track connection between traditional out and back trails.
Company/Organization/Agency Submitting Contract: Cache Trails Alliance
Primary Contact for Contract Information: Alyson Ward
Email Address: alycward@gmail.com
Closest City to Project: Logan
State/Province/Region: Utah
Country: US
Pre-Bid Meeting Date: August 14, 2023
Pre-Bid Meeting Time: 12:00 PM
Anticipated Project Start Date: August 15, 2023
Application Deadline: July 31, 2023
Additional Project Bid Information: Introduction and Background
Cache County is the northernmost county in Utah. The county sits in a beautiful valley surrounded by the Bear River and Wellsville Mountain Ranges. As with many areas in Utah, the population in Cache County is growing rapidly as are the demands on our local forest. Cache Trails Alliance (CTA) was born in 2019 in an effort to assist the US Forest Service’s Logan Ranger District (LRD) manage and develop the mountain trails surrounding Cache County. One popular trail area is Right Hand Fork (RHF) located up Logan Canyon, a primary canyon in the Bear River range and home to Highway 89. RHF is only 20-minutes from Logan City, the county seat and most populous city in the county at ~54,500.
LRD recreation managers have identified RHF as having excellent potential for trail system improvement and expansion. RHF has multiple dirt roads and trails that connect the area (e.g., Little Cottonwood Creek, Willow Creek, Ricks Canyon). RHF is also home to the Lodge Campground and Camp Lomia, and as such provides recreational opportunities for multiple user types and people of all ages from Cache County and beyond. However, most of the recreational trails accessed from RHF are out and back trails, which increases user conflict for people moving up and down the trail on foot, bicycle and horseback, and contributes to overcrowding. The only current way to connect the trails pushes users onto the busy Temple Fork and Cowley dirt roads, where OHV, motorcycles, and four-wheelers are cruising often over 35 MPH.
The Ricks Canyon trail currently passes through a private inholding and dead ends on a forest road. In its present state this trail is of a largely unsustainable alignment and is in numerous locations had degenerated to a condition beyond repairability, with its terminus on the road being an invitation to motorized incursion. The LRD has a strong desire to realign this trail in such a way it no longer crosses the private land, is of a sustainable design that capitalizes on a unique viewshed and will connect to a second trail in the area- the Steel Hollow trail, eliminating motorized access from the road and creating loop opportunities for trail users. Additionally, District recreation managers wish to explore a potential expansion of this realignment to connect with a locally significant historic site- Ephraim’s Grave- which would create even more loop opportunities and would ultimately become a foundation for future enhancements to the RHF trailhead.
Scope of Work
CTA is requesting proposals from qualified individuals or firms to provide trail design services for the Rick’s Canyon connector trail, which will be planned and designed as one trail with multiple entry and exit points. The project build will be implemented in phases. The ultimate scope of work for this project is to create a plan which will stake out a route that connects across the top (east side) of Ricks, to Steel Hollow, over to Trail Hollow connecting to Ephraim’s Cutoff, and finally an easy way (current trail is rated a black trail) down option to Willow Creek—in total approximately 13 miles of realigned and even entirely new trail. The awarded bidder designs and stakes out the new Ricks Canyon to Ephraim’s grave trail. Afterward, the LRD will take the design through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approval process. Once the design is approved by NEPA, the LRD, with assistance from CTA, will construct the trail and plant signage. LRD trail lead, Erik Skablund, estimates it will take a team of two people approximately 30 days to adequately conduct the surveys needed to generate and ground truth two or three options for alignments that work as a solution to the problems that currently exist with this trail, and which allow for future expansion.
The map shown below in Figure 1 provides an overview of the proposed project. The uppermost 2 miles of the Ricks Canyon currently follows the drainage bottom, then passes across over a quarter mile of private land inholding on National Forest Land where it simply dead ends on the Cowley forest road. The current condition of the Ricks Canyon trail does not comply with forest trail standards in terms of grade and drainage and is in the process of degenerating into a hazardous condition for trail users. As a foundational component of this RHF connectivity effort, this section needs to be rerouted away from the drainage bottom and from the private inholding. This realignment will serve as the beginning of the trail connector over to Steel Hollow.
The trail must be designed with mountain bikers and foot traffic users in mind and must follow the International Mountain Bike Association sustainable trail building best practices.
Access to the RHF trails can be achieved from both the Temple Fork Road (closer to Willow Creek) and from the Righthand Fork to Cowley Road (closer to Ricks) via vehicle typically from June 1st to November 15th. The trails may be accessed earlier than June 1st and after November 15th through the existing trails, weather/trail conditions permitting.
Expected deliverables for this project include:
● Detailed trail map route (preferably achieved via survey-grade mapping and delivered in ArcGIS compatible files).
o This should include a minimum of two route options from Rick’s to Steel Hollow.
● Flagging established for proposed Ricks Canyon connector trail
Figure 1.
Current and Proposed Trails in Right Hand Fork of Logan Canyon
Project Details
Project Oversight
The RFP process will be administered by CTA. Bids will be reviewed by a sub-committee of CTA board members and USFS staff. Once the awarded bidder is selected, the chosen contractor will work directly with CTA to complete the scope of work. The CTA point of contact will establish communication lines with the contractor to schedule an initial project meeting and follow up calls.
Project Timeline
If for any reason, the timeline for the project shifts for the contractor, they must notify the CTA point of contact as soon as possible.
June 15, 2023 RFP issue date
dates TBD Pre-bid site visit, optional and self-guided
July 15, 2023 Deadline for clarifications/questions
July 31, 2023 Proposals due
August 11, 2023 Anticipated award announcement
August 15, 2023 Project start date
October 15, 2023 Project completion, deliverables due
Contract Details
This is a fixed price contract. The successful applicant will receive 50% of funding before the project begins and the remaining 50% at project completion.
Proposal Guidelines and Selection Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Contractors responding to this bid must have:
● At least five years of experience
● Ability to demonstrate proof of liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and worker’s comp coverage of at least $500,000 per occurrence.
Narrative Guidelines
The proposed project must include the following information:
1. Description of applicant’s organization and experience with similar work, including links and photos if available.
2. Minimum of two references (name and contact information) of previous clients
3. Detailed workplan no
4. Details of deliverables
5. Timeline for project completion
6. Budget details
o Itemization of labor, materials, travel etc.
o Narrative that includes how methods used will achieve scope of work and how contractor will meet completion dates while staying within the budget.
Selection Criteria
Successful applicants will have:
1. Extent applicant describes organizational experience with at least five years of experience designing single-track mountain bike and foot traffic trails. This will include examples of similar work and at least two references (30pts.).
2. Description of workplan and methods to complete the project. This includes deliverables to CTA at project completion (40pts.).
3. Overall price of bid (20 pts.).
4. Assurances that contractor’s capacity to complete the project within the proposed timeline (10pts.).
Proposals are due July 31, 2023. Late applications will not be accepted. Submit questions and proposals to Alyson Ward at alycward@gmail.com.
Date Submitted to PTBA: June 19, 2023