# Bridging the Use, Innovation, Life, and Durability of Concrete (BUILD Concrete)

Canonical: https://abierto.us/opportunities/693jj324baa0003002

- Solicitation number: 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002
- Notice type: Solicitation
- Status: Awarded to Iowa State University of Science and Technology
- Department: Department of Transportation
- Agency: Federal Highway Administration
- Contracting office: 693JJ3 Acquisition and Grants MGT (693JJ3)
- NAICS: 541330 Engineering Services
- Product or service code: AS12 Transportation R&D Services; Surface Transportation, Public Transit, And Rail; Applied Research
- Place of performance: Washington, District of Columbia
- County: District of Columbia (FIPS 11001). https://abierto.us/counties/district-of-columbia-dc-11001
- City: Washington. https://abierto.us/cities/washington-dc-1150000
- First posted: November 14, 2025
- Last posted: March 6, 2026
- SAM.gov: https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/d645aac4b8ca49a8a4967a92e34de658/view

## Description

The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) associated with this BAA Call, 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003_A0001, can be found at the following link: https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/cae7c3525e1e4120b57a372b0b749233/view. Please refer to the BAA for detailed information and instructions. The concrete industry has undergone more change in the last 10 years than it did in the prior 60 years.

The driver for this was industry-led innovation, as showcased by the cement producer’s shift from traditional Type I/II cement to a Type IL cement as the majority on the market as of 2023. A primary barrier to entry for this new cement was state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), where their specifications and lack of familiarity with the new material resulted in a decade long delay of adoption from the establishment of an initial consensus material specification that was passed in 2012. This shift was a catalyst for innovation and change in the industry, with at least 30 different innovative materials currently known to be attempting to make similar inroads in the marketplace.

These materials boast a variety of different claims including lower costs, improved performance, better supply, and lower variability. With ongoing challenges from diminishing sources of conventional supplementary materials like fly ash and seasonal shortages of silica fume and ground-granulated blast furnace slag, these innovative alternative cements and supplementary materials collectively represent a significant improvement to the supply chain for concrete production and construction.

The FHWA seeks to accelerate the implementation of next generation binder technologies into engineering practice while assuring these materials maintain proper durability and improve infrastructure integrity. This is anticipated to be accomplished in part through benchmarking performance of solutions which have achieved a suitable technology readiness level such that they may be implemented in an industrial trial.

The FHWA is seeking solutions of market-ready binders to be benchmarked against (at a minimum) an industrially produced Class A concrete with a target 28-day compressive strength of 4000 psi (see Table 8.2.2-1, AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications), with mixture proportions preferably in general agreement with the offeror’s regional norms.

## Award on USAspending

- Recipient: Iowa State University of Science and Technology (UEI DQDBM7FGJPC5)
- Contract: 693JJ326C000006, definitive contract
- Obligated: $250,000.00
- Competition: Full and Open Competition, 6 offers received
- Link: solicitation number 693JJ324BAA0003002 equals the FPDS solicitation identifier; same awarding office 693JJ3 (high confidence)
- Record: https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_693JJ326C000006_6925_-NONE-_-NONE-/

- Recipient: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (UEI EMFNZND66N54)
- Contract: 693JJ326C000011, definitive contract
- Obligated: $250,000.00
- Competition: Full and Open Competition, 6 offers received
- Link: solicitation number 693JJ324BAA0003002 equals the FPDS solicitation identifier; same awarding office 693JJ3 (high confidence)
- Record: https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_693JJ326C000011_6925_-NONE-_-NONE-/


## Publications

- November 14, 2025: Solicitation, due January 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM EST. Notice c230e998e90940178a186fd08ffd688d. https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/c230e998e90940178a186fd08ffd688d/view
- January 5, 2026: Solicitation, due January 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM EST. Notice e3f80d775b1841838e328e7a33bbc5c7. https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/e3f80d775b1841838e328e7a33bbc5c7/view
- March 6, 2026: Solicitation, due April 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT. Notice 67a91e636e034c10bdadd1982b8d2fd8. https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/67a91e636e034c10bdadd1982b8d2fd8/view
- March 6, 2026: Solicitation, due April 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM EDT. Notice d645aac4b8ca49a8a4967a92e34de658. https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/d645aac4b8ca49a8a4967a92e34de658/view

## Points of contact

- Raven Merchant, Raven.Merchant@dot.gov
- Bob Brown, Bob.P.Brown@dot.gov

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Source: SAM.gov Contract Opportunities bulk extract and USAspending.gov award data. Confirm deadlines on SAM.gov before responding. Cite https://abierto.us/opportunities/693jj324baa0003002.