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Publications iconKansas Register

Volume 42 - Issue 3 - January 19, 2023

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 described in Table 1 below. Interested consultants must email a proposal to KDOT.DesignContracts@ks.gov by 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) February 3, 2023, to be considered for selection.

Consultant Prequalification

Interested consulting firms must be prequalified by KDOT or otherwise demonstrate qualification in categories:

  • 211 Highway Design–Major Facility
  • 222 Standard Span Bridge Design
  • 231 Traffic Control Analysis and Design
  • 325 Hydraulic and Hydrologic Studies
  • 401 Landscape Seeding and Erosion Control

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-6537-01 Construct shoulders, improve side slopes, and extend structures as needed on US-56 in Rice County.

Table 2: Project Summary
Project Number Route and Scope Length (mi) Project Termini
KA-6537-01 056-080
Shoulder widening and bridge replacement
14.471 From the east city limits of Lyons, Kansas (17th Road) east to the Rice/McPherson County line.
Project Number Structure BR#, Structure Scope, Structure Size and Type
KA-6537-01 In consultation with KDOT, determine whether to extend or replace existing bridge-sized RCB structures and perform necessary hydraulic analysis and documentation. Near the crossing of the Little Arkansas River, in the vicinity of Bridge 80-014, perform 2-D Hydraulic Analysis of entire floodplain to determine type, size and location of proposed replacement bridge structure and possible replacement or removal of other nearby structures.

Anticipated Consultant Scope

KDOT anticipates the following to be included in the consultant’s scope: Discovery Phase Services, Preliminary Design Service, Final Design Service, Environmental Documentation Preparation (Permitting), Letting and Construction Phase Service, and 3D Electronic Deliverables Preparation.

Current expectations for consultant scope are detailed below. The scope included herein may not be all-inclusive. A scoping meeting will take place after consultant selection is made.

Project Management

  • Develop and communicate Project Management Plan and Quality Assurance Plan.
  • Perform quality control checks according to Quality Assurance Plan.
  • Provide electronic plan files compliant with KDOT Graphic Standards Manual, including CAD conformance checks and ControlCAD indexed DGN files with ProjectWise attributes.
  • Provide bi-annual construction cost estimates and at major project milestones.

Road Design

  • Develop Preliminary Plans to Field Check.
  • Develop Final Plans for Construction.
  • Perform roadway geometric design, drainage design, interchange analysis, and roadside safety analysis.
  • Visit the project site location

Bridge Design

  • Field Check
    • In consultation with KDOT, determine whether to extend or replace existing bridge-sized RCB structures and perform necessary hydraulic analysis and documentation.
    • Near the crossing of the Little Arkansas River, in the vicinity of Bridge 80-014, perform 2-D Hydraulic Analysis of entire floodplain to determine type, size and location of proposed replacement bridge structure and possible replacement or removal of other nearby structures.
  • Final Design
    • Provide final plans for construction for all bridge-sized structures, to include structure removals, box extensions, box replacements, and span-bridge replacements.

Traffic Engineering

  • Traffic Control Plans: This project will require traffic to be carried through construction.
  • Develop permanent signing and pavement marking plans.

Activities to be performed by KDOT include:

  • Engineering Survey
  • Environmental Services
    • Asbestos and lead paint testing.
    • Permit application.
    • Technical data to support these activities will be required from the consultant immediately after field check.
  • Permits will include NPDES – Storm Water Runoff Permit in which KDOT will require from consultant:
    • Total project site area in acres.
    • Total disturbed area in acres (from Seeding Plans).
    • Impervious area in square feet (existing and proposed).
    • Above information needs to be provided by consultant (90) days prior to letting.
  • Utility coordination, if required.
  • Geotechnical services including soil investigations, bridge foundation geology, pavement field investigation and design, and surfacing recommendations.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

  1. Proposals are due by or before 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) February 3, 2023.
  2. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around February 7, 2023. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around February 14, 2023. An executed agreement is anticipated around February 27, 2023.
  3. The program fiscal year for this project is FY2027 (July 2026–June 2027).
  4. Important dates in Discovery Phase:
    1. PLNMR: February 22, 2023
    2. FDCHK: November 23, 2023
    3. PLROW: February 7, 2024
    4. UTILP: July 31, 2024
    5. PLNTE: November 14, 2025
    6. PLCOM: July 17, 2026

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 counted 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-6537-01 Rice 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. Both attachments are required for every firm involved in a multi-consultant team.
  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.
  8. 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.

Table 3: Proposal Content
Section Description of Intent Page Limit
Cover Letter 1 Page
Project Approach Demonstrate a unique approach to accomplish the design efficiently and to a high standard. Include cost-effective and optimized solutions to address the anticipated improvements in the design. Include unique qualifications or experience related to the project approach.
Approach to Schedule Describe the approach to accomplish the scope of services 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 15%
Project approach 15%
Approach and commitment to meet advertised schedule 15%
Past performance history for similar projects/services for KDOT 25%
Approach to quality control 10%
The quality and completeness of the response 10%
Understanding of KDOT Technical Policies 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”)

Special Contract Conditions

This project will be managed by KDOT.

Questions

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

Questions can be submitted until January 25, 2023; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants on January 30, 2023.

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

Doc. No. 050821