How to bid CTDOT work: prequalify online, file a Part C for every project, and bid through Bid Express

The Connecticut Department of Transportation advertises highway, bridge, rail and facility construction projects and takes bids electronically. Its schedule lists 80 projects to be advertised between November 2026 and September 2027. Here is the process, based on CTDOT's prequalification page and its electronic bidding instructions.

Step 1: Prequalify with CTDOT

CTDOT says prospective bidders "must be prequalified by CTDOT to be eligible to bid on and receive awards of construction contracts." Applications, annual update certifications and revisions, such as requests for additional work classifications or a change of name or address, are filed in CTDOT's online system, which also shows a firm's application status and history. CTDOT's Construction Contract Bidding and Award Manual has the details.

CTDOT states that "subcontractors do not need to be prequalified. Only prime contractors bidding directly on CTDOT advertised projects must apply."

Step 2: Find the project

CTDOT advertises projects on the DAS State Contracting Portal, where bid invitations, plans, specifications and addenda are free. Bidders' questions and CTDOT's answers are posted on the Contracts Q&A site, which on Oct. 31 listed one advertised project: the I-95 bridges over the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, with bids opening Jan. 13, 2027.

CTDOT also publishes a tentative schedule of state projects to be advertised over the next year, updated monthly. The October 2026 edition lists 80 projects, starting Nov. 4 with rehabilitation of the Bulkeley Bridge on I-84 and the Founders Bridge on CT 2 in Hartford. CTDOT says the DAS CTsource Bid Board has the actual advertising and bid opening dates.

Step 3: File a Part C

Every prospective bidder must submit a Bid Proposal Request Form, known as Part C, for each project. CTDOT replies by email saying whether the bidder is approved for that project, and it will not accept bids from bidders it has not approved.

Step 4: Bid

Approved bidders download the official Bid Proposal Form, an EBSX file, and any amendment files from Bid Express, using the free AASHTOWare Project Bids software. Bids not submitted on the official form are rejected. Amendment files are posted whenever the proposal changes, including a change of letting date, and CTDOT says it is the bidder's responsibility to download them all.

Before the bid opening, bidders email a signed bid bond in PDF to CTDOT with the project number in the subject line. The low bidder must deliver the original within seven days after the opening. CTDOT also encourages bidders to file an annual bid bond instead.

Step 5: State forms

Before award, bidders must upload state ethics and contracting forms to the DAS BizNet system: the ethics laws summary affirmation, consulting agreement affidavit, gift and campaign contribution certification, nondiscrimination certification and Iran certification.

DAS prequalification is separate

The Department of Administrative Services runs its own prequalification program for publicly funded construction over $1 million in designated classifications. DAS says firms bidding contracts over $500,000 but under $1 million do not need DAS prequalification but may have to submit added information with the bid. State law excludes DOT highway and bridge work from the DAS program.

For subcontractors

Subcontractors do not prequalify with CTDOT, but on state contracts, Connecticut law requires the prime to pay them within 30 days after the state pays the prime, unless it gives written notice of a bona fide reason for withholding. On public contracts over $100,000, unpaid subs and suppliers can claim on the prime's payment bond.

Questions go to CTDOT's Contracts Unit at its offices on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington. See our CTDOT bidding guide, CTsource guide and the Hartford County hub.