For commercial paving and repaving work, clients issue a request for proposal (RFP) to a number on contractors. This is by no means the only method for obtaining bids on a pavement project, but it is an accepted and popular one. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the RFP process.

• An independent professional should assist with creating the RFP. This could be a pavement consultant, reverse study engineer, or a contractor you trust.
• A pre-bid meeting with the three to five contractors who received the RFP is standard procedure. Other stakeholders requesting the bid should be part of the meeting, which should be a Q&A session to make sure everyone understands the scope of the work.
• The RFP should be open for editing during the pre-bid meetings.

The advantage of going through the RFP and pre-bid process is that everyone leaves the meetings understanding the work that needs to be done. That way, when the bids come back they’ll be easy to compare. You can learn more by visiting our education page. For more on paving or to get help with your paving project, contact us.