ROADSIDE MOWING 1.0 Description. This work shall consist of mowing grassed or vegetated roadside areas including areas that may require the use of specialized equipment and hand trimming around fixed objects. Routinely mowed areas include, but are not limited to shoulders, front and back slopes, roadside ditch bottoms, raised median islands and various width utility strips. The limit of areas to be mowed next to travel ways shall begin at the contiguous line between the shoulder and grassy area. Hand mowing and trimming will be required to perform the specified work in areas that are inaccessible to mechanized equipment. Vegetation to be mowed shall consist of planted or naturally occurring grasses, weeds, and other vegetation, both herbaceous and woody. Unless otherwise approved by the engineer, all non-cultivated woody vegetation shall be cut one-half inch or less above the vegetation’s surrounding ground level. All brush, tree limbs or other loose herbaceous and woody vegetation lying on the ground in the mowing area shall be picked up and disposed of and not mowed or cut around. Vegetation that is excluded includes landscaped ornamental plantings. MoDOT has entered into the CCAA, Nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, with The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish pollinator habitats along MoDOT right of ways. These locations have not been established at this time. In the event that, one or more, of these pollinator habitats be located within this contract, MoDOT will determine if these locations will be removed from this contract to be maintained by MoDOT. 2.0 Work Schedule. 2.1 All work shall be performed during daylight hours. 2.2 At least two (2) calendar days prior to beginning each mowing cycle, the contractor shall notify the engineer by phone, email or entry on a MoDOT dedicated SharePoint site of the proposed start date, working hours, starting location, and the direction in which mowing operations will proceed. 2.3 The engineer shall be notified as soon as practical of any changes due to weather, equipment, or other circumstances. The Contractor must contact the engineer or designated representative for determination and concurrence of rain day status. 2.4 At the conclusion of each day starting from the Notice To Proceed date or at an otherwise agreed upon frequency, the contractor shall inform the engineer or designated representative by phone, email or journal in the appropriate Job File on a dedicated external SharePoint site, to be provided to the contractor, the work date, work limits (taken from the contract drawing), work completed, comments, and person making the journal entry. 3.0 Equipment. 3.1 Mowing and trimming equipment shall be maintained so as to produce a clean, sharp cut and uniform distribution of cuttings. Mowing equipment shall have a minimum adjustable cutting height as listed in the project details. Special mowing equipment restrictions, if any, are listed in the project details. 3.2 All manufacturer recommended safety devices shall be properly installed and maintained at all times that the mowing and/or trimming equipment is in use. All mowing and trimming equipment shall use protective devices to minimize throwing of unmowable objects into roadway traffic or onto adjacent private property. If the engineer determines that any equipment is deficient in safety devices, the contractor shall immediately remove the equipment from service until the deficiency is corrected. 4.0 Work Requirements. 4.1 Where the limits of mowing and trimming have been previously established, or natural landscaping has been preserved, mowing shall conform to the established mowing contours unless otherwise excluded by the engineer. Mowed areas shall be uniform in appearance with no streaking or scalping. No strip of unmowed areas greater than 5 feet shall be left unmowed between two mowing areas. Mowed areas of different widths shall be connected to produce smooth flowing transitions. Clippings shall be evenly distributed over the mowed area. No large clumps of clippings shall remain after mowing. Mowing height shall be as designated in the project details. 4.2 One side of the roadway shall not be mowed to a length for which the adjacent roadside cannot be mowed the succeeding workday. At the conclusion of each working day, no more than a one (1) mile section shall be left partially mowed.
