Volume 41 - Issue 47 - November 24, 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 16, 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 evaluation 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 the categories:

• 161 Corridor/Project Feasibility Studies
• 162 Long Range Planning
• 201 Location and Design Concept Studies/Corridor Studies
• 211 Highway Design Major Facility OR 411 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facility Design
• 325 Hydraulic and Hydrologic 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. 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.

The consultant must be staffed with experienced planning and engineering professionals with experience in immediate and long-range planning concerning the systemic resilience of the surface transportation system. The selected consultant shall have a licensed engineer within the state of Kansas who is part of the project team, as well as one or more persons with experience in highway/local road design on major and minor facilities and experience in addressing pedestrian, bicycle, and multi-modal facilities.

Table 1: Background and Scope of Project
Project Number	Background and Scope of Project
P-1794-23	The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), was signed by the President on November 15, 2021, and has been codified at 23 United States Code (U.S.C.) 175. BIL established the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards and weather events including, but not limited to, climate change, severe storms, flooding, drought, extreme heat, erosion of waterways, extreme wind, seismic events, and wildfires. To fulfill this purpose, BIL asks each state to develop a Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) and to fund projects designed to increase the resiliency of the state’s multi-modal transportation network. The planning process and subsequent funding through BIL are intended to protect surface transportation assets on the State Highway System and Local Major Collector Road system. Through this process, the state will be better able to avoid future damage, maintenance, and reconstruction of infrastructure due to current and future weather events and natural disasters. Through resilience improvements and strategies, the state and its communities will be prepared for the continued operation or rapid recovery of surface transportation systems. KDOT’s Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) will include all content requirements per Section 176e of the IIJA and federal guidance. It shall include, but not be limited to, the following: development of a statewide risk based multimodal vulnerability assessment that considers current and future events; development and identification of proposed short, medium and long range resilience solutions; development of a data-driven project prioritization framework to prioritize resilience investments; development of a stakeholder involvement and public participation plan that includes traditionally underserved individuals and communities related to the USDOT’s Justice 40 initiative; development of RIP should be informed by the TAMP and the State Freight Plan and be consistent with the State’s LRTP and the State and local emergency and hazard plans; and development of a GIS tool to identify impacts of extreme weather to multimodal transportation system. The RIP will be developed as part of the State and MPO planning processes. The RIP will consider probability and likelihood. The planning period for the RIP will include the years 2023 to 2032. It is expected that the RIP will assist KDOT in demonstrating a systemic approach to resilience through our maintenance, operations, project implementation, and policy decision-making processes. For further information, please refer to the latest guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration Memorandum of July 29, 2022, pertaining to the PROTECT Program can be found at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sustainability/resilience/policy_and_guidance/protect_formula.pdf.

Table 2: Project Summary
Project Number	Route and Location	Length (mi)	Project Termini
P-1794-23	106 – Statewide All Federal and State Highways	Not relevant to this project	KDOT is seeking proposals from qualified firms to develop the KDOT Resilience Improvement Plan.
Project Number	Type
P-1794-23	KDOT Resilience Improvement Plan.

Additional Detail of Services

The KDOT Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) must be structured to meet all requirements of Section 176e of the IIJA. It is expected that the selected qualified firm will identify opportunities that support both planning and project implementation processes simultaneously.

The RIP will meet the FHWA requirement from the Program Guidance that ensures the reduction of the non-federal match for federal projects funded under the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost Saving Transportation (PROTECT) program.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

1. Proposals are due by or before 12:00 p.m. (CST) December 16, 2022
2. Anticipated Start Date: February 2023
   1. Draft Plan due December 2023
   2. Final Plan due February 2024
3. The program fiscal year for this project is SFY 2023- SFY 2024 (June 2022 – July 2024)
4. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around December 23, 2022
5. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around January 2, 2023
6. An executed agreement is anticipated around January 20, 2023

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 the standard letter size will count as two or more pages, depending on the 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’s due date and time.
4. The subject line of the email and the PDF file name must read:
   1. “P-1794-23, KDOT Resilience Improvement Plan., statewide_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 and innovative approach to accomplish the plan to a high standard. Include cost-effective and optimized solutions to address the anticipated scope of work. Include unique qualifications or experience related to the planned 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 locations, qualifications, education, training, and expertise. Identify their area(s) of responsibility and the percentage 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.
Past Performance	Describe the team’s past performance concerning the 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 the 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	20%
Proposed approach for review and analysis	30%
Past performance history for similar projects/services for KDOT	15%
Availability to respond to the work	10%
The quality and completeness of the response	15%
Familiarity with applicable federal regulations and guidance	10%

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 December 5, 2022; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants on December 9, 2022.

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

Doc. No. 050690