a. mountain line reserves the right to postpone the bid opening or receipt of proposals at its sole discretion.

b. changes to written specifications will be made by addendum only.

c. prime vendors and subcontractors may make appointments to discuss specifications. this, however, does not relieve them from the written documented requests required by subparagraph d and f, following.

d. requests for approved equals, clarification of specifications, and protest of specifications must be received by mountain line in writing not less than ten (10) working days before the date of the scheduled closing date for receipt of proposals. any request for an approved equal or protest of the specifications must be fully supported with technical data, test results, or other pertinent information as evidence that the substitute offered is equal to or better than the specification requirement.

e. mountain line replies to requests under paragraph (d) above will be postmarked at least

five (5) working days before the date scheduled for the proposal opening.

f. appeals by any adversely affected person regarding restrictive specifications or alleged improprieties in the solicitation must be made in writing and received by the general manager not less than twenty-four (24) hours before the bid opening. the formal written protest shall state with particularity the facts and law upon which the protest is based.

g. upon receipt of appeal, mountain line shall immediately determine if the date for the proposal closing date should be postponed. if it is postponed, mountain line will so notify all known potential bidders. such notice will be made in writing by addendum.

h. representatives of mountain line and the protester shall meet within twenty-four(24) hours after receipt of the appeal, or at such a time as mutually agreed, to resolve the protest. upon completion of discussion between mountain line and protester, mountain line will issue a final decision in writing to the protester within five (5) working days. if the written decision cannot be issued within this time period, the protester will be notified in writing of the time extension. upon issuance of the written decision, mountain line will then issue an appropriate addendum to reschedule the proposal closing date.

 i. protest by any adversely affected person for reasons other than for restrictive specifications

or alleged improprieties in the solicitation must be made in writing and received by the general manager not more than twenty-four (24) hours after the posting of the notice of award is made to the participating bidders. upon receipt of a protest after contract award, mountain line shall immediately determine if work on the protested project should be suspended until such time as the protest is resolved.

j. representatives of mountain line and the protester shall meet within forty-eight(48) hours after receipt of the protest or such time as mutually agreed to by both parties to resolve the protest. upon completion of discussions between mountain line and protester, mountain line will issue a written decision to the protester within five(5) working days. if the written decision cannot be issued within this time period, protester will be notified in writing of time extension.

k. any appeal or protest may be withdrawn at any time.

l. under the federal transit administration's circular 4220. 1 f, the federal transit

administration's (ft a's) review of any protest will be limited to:

(a) failure of mountain line to have or adhere to its written bid protest procedures, or failure of the mountain line to review a complaint or protest.

(b) alleged violations on other grounds are under the jurisdiction of the appropriate state or local administrative authorities.

(c) alleged violations of a specific federal requirement that provides an applicable complaint procedure shall be submitted and processed in accordance with that federal regulation. see,e.g., buy america requirements, 49 c.f.r. part 661 (section 661.15); participation – minority business enterprise in department of transportation programs, 49 c.f.r. section 23.73.

(d) the federal transit administration will only review protests submitted by an actual or prospective bidder whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of the contract or by failure to award the contract. the federal transit administration reserves the right not to participate in the funding of any contract awarded pending resolution of a protest to them.

(e) an appeal to the federal transit administration must be received by the cognizant fta regional or headquarters office within five (5) working days of the date the protester knew or should have known of the violation.