Volume 41 - Issue 46 - November 17, 2022

State of Kansas

Department of Transportation

Notice to Consulting Firms

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is seeking a qualified consulting firm or team of firms to perform professional services for the project(s) described in Table 1 below. Interested consultants must email a proposal to KDOT.DesignContracts@ks.gov by 12:00 p.m. (CST) December 7, 2022, to be considered for selection.

Depending on the number of responses received, KDOT may elect to shortlist (based on proposals) to no more than 3-5 firms and hold in-person interviews prior to final selection (which may be based on both proposal and interview content). If KDOT deems them necessary, interview evaluations criteria will be distributed to shortlisted consultant teams in advance.

Consultant Prequalification

Interested consulting firms must be prequalified by KDOT or otherwise demonstrate qualification in category(s):

• 201 – Location and Design Concept Studies/Corridor Studies (PE)
• 181 – Corridor Enhancement/Scenic Byways
• 161 – Corridor/Project Feasibility Studies

If a firm is not currently prequalified by KDOT, a proposal may still be submitted. Firms not prequalified must also provide documentation that demonstrates the firm is qualified for each specified category listed in this notice for the project. Firms must use the KDOT prequalification form to provide this documentation. KDOT 1050 Prequalification Category Definitions (Blue Book) can be found at http://www.ksdot.org/descons.asp. Consultants may create a team to meet the prequalification requirements. All firms doing business with KDOT must be registered and in good standing under the laws of the State of Kansas at the time of contracting and must comply with applicable state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.

Table 1: Background and Scope of Project
Project Number	Background and Scope of Project
KA-6829-01	K-15 (aka the Eisenhower Memorial Highway) is a north-south highway in Kansas, which originates at the Oklahoma state line and continues northward to the Nebraska border. This highway is a principal arterial throughout the State of Kansas and the segment between the cities of Wichita and Derby experiences significant daily traffic volumes. KDOT recently agreed to study this segment and partner in the development of the K-15 Corridor Management Plan. The successful consultant will set forth an overall land-use and access management strategy and identify various transportation improvements to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently as development occurs. This study is intended to help make informed transportation decisions over the next 20 years.

Table 2: Project Summary
Project Number	Route and Scope	Length (mi)	Project Termini
KA-6829-01	15-08 K-15 from I-135 in Wichita to East 95th Street South.	Approximately 9 miles and within ½ mile either side.	K-15 from I-135 in Wichita to East 95th Street South.
Project Number	Type
KA-6829-01	KDOT, in collaboration with Sedgwick County, the cities of Wichita and Derby, and the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, is seeking a consultant to develop a Corridor Management Plan for the K-15 Corridor, from I-135 in Wichita to East 95th Street South in Derby. This will be a comprehensive planning effort and we are seeking and encouraging innovative ideas for delivery of the plan.

Anticipated Consultant Scope

KDOT and the study partners anticipate the following may be included in the consultant’s scope:

• Public and stakeholder involvement.
• Traffic safety review.
• Existing and future land-use and traffic.
• Market analysis of various trends and opportunities for growth and economic development.
  • Deliverables shall help inform future growth and travel demand estimates.
• Corridor mobility analysis (multimodal, freight, O/D, roadway capacity, traffic operations, etc.)
  • Must consider adjacent railway, rail crossings, and impacts to corridor intersections.
• High-level scan for potential utility, environmental, and historical property impacts.
• Consideration of previous studies within the corridor planning area and applicable local and regional plans (i.e., Reimagined MOVE 2040, K-15 Area Plan, ARC95, etc.).
  • This planning process shall consider the Regional Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSMO) Plan and provide strategic recommendations along the corridor.
• Corridor improvement recommendations and cost estimates for:
  • Immediate.
  • Midterm.
  • Ultimate improvements/facility-type.
• Recommendations shall include potential triggers or thresholds for improvements, such as safety or traffic volume thresholds, and shall consider future/planned KDOT projects in the area that could influence (or accelerate) construction timelines.
• Implementation strategies for the plan, which shall include, but may not be limited to, funding opportunities and strategies under state and federal programs, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), among others.

Note: A scoping meeting(s) will follow consultant selection to better define the project scope.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

1. Proposals are due by or before: 12:00 p.m. (CST) December 7, 2022
2. Anticipated Start Date: First of February 2023
3. The program fiscal year for this project is FY 2023 (July 2022–June 2023)
4. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around December 9, 2022
5. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around December 23, 2022
6. An executed agreement is anticipated around January 9, 2023
7. Important dates in Phase:
   1. Bstdy: February 1, 2023
   2. Draftrept: December 1, 2023
   3. Estdy: February 1, 2024

Instructions for Proposal

1. No cost or pricing information shall be submitted with the proposal. Proposals including cost or pricing information will be considered non-responsive and withdrawn from further consideration.
2. The consultant’s proposal must not exceed 4 pages total (including any cover letter, index, etc.). All pages shall be standard letter size (8.5” x 11”). Any page larger than standard letter size will be count as two or more pages depending on size.
3. A single PDF (2MB maximum size) of the proposal including all attachments must be emailed to KDOT.DesignContracts@ks.gov by the proposal due date and time.
4. The subject line of the email and the PDF file name must read:
   1. “KA-6829-01, K-15 Corridor Management Plan, Sedgwick County._FIRM NAME”
5. The proposal must be accompanied by Special Attachments No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”) and No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”). If you need a Tax Clearance Certificate, you can request one at https://www.ksrevenue.gov/taxclearance.html. Allow 2-3 business days for processing.
6. The outline in Table 3 below describes the expected proposal organization and content sections.
7. Table 4 lists the evaluation criteria and associated weights which will be used to make a selection.

Table 3: Proposal Content
Section	Description of Intent	Page Limit
Cover Letter		1 Page
Project Approach	Demonstrate a unique approach to accomplish the plan and to a high standard. Include cost-effective and optimized solutions to address the anticipated improvements. Include unique qualifications or experience related to the plan approach.
Approach to Schedule	Describe the approach to accomplish the scope within the schedule requirements. Include anticipated key milestone dates and availability of staff.
Approach to Quality Control	Describe methods or procedures your firm will use to provide all drawings, reports and other services with professional quality and technical accuracy.
Qualifications and Experience	For key personnel to be assigned to the project provide names, office location, qualifications, education, training, and expertise. Identify their area(s) of responsibility and percent of their time dedicated to the project. List work for which you do not have in-house capability and name the firm you propose to subcontract with.
Past Performance	Describe team’s past performance with respect to ability to meet project schedules; quality of work; and ability to control costs on similar transportation projects, especially those performed for KDOT. Include three references and contact information.
Familiarity with KDOT and Project Area	Describe team’s familiarity with KDOT’s design process and standards. Describe familiarity with the project area and any identified special site conditions.

Table 4: Evaluation Factors
Evaluation Factor	Weight
Qualifications and experience of project manager and other key project team members proposed for services	25%
Past performance history for similar project/services for the project partner	20%
Approach and Commitment to meet advertised schedule	10%
Project approach	10%
Familiarity of the project area	15%
Demonstrated understanding of nature and scope of project	20%

Contract Terms and Conditions

A standard KDOT agreement for engineering and technical services will be used for professional services projects. The following special attachments will need to be provided by the selected consultant and all subconsultants with the signed work order following negotiations and will become attachments to the contract.

• Special Attachment No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”)
• Special Attachment No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”)

Questions

All questions regarding this Request for Proposals shall be emailed to KDOT.DesignContracts@ks.gov.

Questions can be submitted until November 23, 2022; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants on November 30, 2022.

Marcia Turner, P.E., Contracts Manager
Division of Engineering and Design

Doc. No. 050678