Description
The USDA Forest Service is seeking a small‑business contractor to install a new fiber‑optic communications link between the Womble Ranger District office and the Womble Work Center in Mount Ida, Arkansas. The work includes civil excavation, installation of 2‑inch non‑metallic conduit and pull boxes, placement of an 8‑strand outdoor fiber‑optic cable, backfilling, and restoration of disturbed land through seeding, fertilizing, and mulching. The contract is a total small‑business set‑aside with an estimated value between $25 k and $100 k, and performance must be completed by early January 2027.
• Install 2‑inch conduit, pull boxes, and 8‑strand outdoor fiber‑optic cable from the ranger office to the work center.
• Perform earthwork, backfill (max 8 in. lifts, top 6 in. topsoil), and landscape restoration (seed mixes, fertilizer, wheat‑straw mulch) within prescribed seasonal windows.
• Adhere to a 08:00‑16:30 work schedule (Mon‑Fri, federal holidays excluded), submit product submittals 15 days before use, and meet tight post‑seeding mulch timing (48 hr).