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DOT seeks authority to delay highway bid openings without full re-advertising
Summary
The Department of Transportation asked the committee for a change to allow limited extensions of an advertised bid opening date to avoid restarting the full 21‑day advertisement cycle; the committee held the bill for minor clarifying language.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation told the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee it needs statutory flexibility to adjust highway construction bid‑opening dates after a project has been advertised, allowing the department to extend a bid opening without initiating a brand‑new 21‑day advertisement cycle.
Matt Linneman, deputy director for engineering at NDDOT, said the department’s current practice requires a full re‑advertisement if the advertised bid opening must be pulled and the agency wants to keep the project on a short construction season. "Projects have a very short construction window of time here in North Dakota, and it is very time sensitive," Linneman said, explaining the bill would allow the department to issue an addendum and extend the bid opening date rather than restarting the two‑month schedule that a re‑advertisement often triggers.
Committee members questioned timing and bidder notification. Linneman described the practical process: the DOT routinely issues addenda during the advertisement period; under the proposed change the department would issue an addendum naming a new bid opening date and notify bidders via the DOT’s bidding website. He said electronic bidding systems keep submitted bids confidential until the opening time.
The Associated General Contractors of North Dakota testified in support, saying the change would reduce the economic cost of re‑advertising and would be used rarely; Russ Hansen said extending a bid by a week could avoid delays that otherwise become two‑month setbacks and raise project cost.
Committee members asked for drafting clarifications to ensure the bill aligns with existing statutory language that sets minimum advertisement periods. The committee did not take a final vote and held the bill for a likely minor amendment to clarify whether the bill extends the bid submission deadline or only the bid opening event.
If amended and enacted, the change would give the DOT an administrative tool — limited, in proponents’ view, and rarely used — to avoid losing an entire construction season on time‑sensitive projects.
