The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) was borne out of the 2014 U.S. Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) recommendations. The recommendations called for formation of a truly international collaboration for constructing a US-based long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment with a powerful neutrino beam (~MW scale), a massive liquid argon TPC (40 kt) sited several hundred kilometers downstream of the neutrino source and deep underground, and a smaller detector just downstream of the beamline. Together these elements will have the capability to unambiguously determine the neutrino mass ordering, search for CP violation in the lepton sector, search for proton decay, and observe neutrinos from core collapse supernovae.
The LBNF/DUNE-US Project is the DOE-funded construction project to create the facility and contribute US scope to the international DUNE Collaboration. The major participants in the overall LBNF/DUNE enterprise are the international DUNE collaboration, the LBNF/DUNE-US construction project, the DOE, international funding agencies, Fermilab (in Batavia, Illinois) as the host laboratory, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF, in Lead, South Dakota), where the far detector will be located.
FRA is seeking firms to provide the performance requirements and tasks at SURF, in Lead, South Dakota, to supply logistical and material transport services for managing the flow of materials in support of the LBNF/DUNE Building and Site Infrastructure (BSI) subproject and the Far Detectors and Cryogenic Infrastructure (FDC) subproject, as defined as the “Bull Gang”. The Bull Gang requirements have three main areas of defined performance: BSI Surface Bull Gang, BSI Underground Bull Gang, and FDC Bull Gang. The BSI and FDC Bull Gang services will coexist during the period of time the BSI subproject is active. Only the FDC Bull Gang services will be required after the BSI subproject is completed.
The BSI Surface Bull Gang work includes coordinating deliveries to the SURF site, unloading materials, short-term storage, and transport of materials to the Ross Headframe. At the headframe, materials are transferred to the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA) for shaft movement. SDSTA transports deliveries through the shaft and unloads them at the 4850L. The BSI Underground Bull Gang then receives the material again and transports it to either a storage location or the site of installation. The FDC Bull Gang’s primary responsibility is to manage the flow of FDC materials at the surface and the 4850L in support of the LBNF/DUNE FDC subproject. An overview of the scope is provided in the attached Draft Statement of Work dated October 2024.
FRA is seeking interested sources to perform the BSI Bull Gang Underground Task, BSI Bull Gang Surface Task, and/or FDC Bull Gang Task. You may indicate interest in one, all, or a combination of the three Tasks by completion of the attached questionnaires for each Task.
This Sources Sought notice is a tool for FRA to gauge the number and availability of firms in the marketplace that may be able to successfully complete the Bull Gang scope within a timeframe that ensures uninterrupted progress of the LBNF/DUNE-US project. FRA will utilize information received in response to this Source Sought notice to structure its acquisition strategy for the Bull Gang scope.
All expressions of interest must be accompanied by a completed Market Research Questionnaire, which is attached to this notice. If you are interested in two or three Tasks, complete each individual Questionnaire. The Questionnaire results will be utilized by FRA to understand the capabilities that exist in the vendor community.
