Volume 43 - Issue 15 - April 11, 2024

State of Kansas

Department of Transportation

Request for Proposals

Notice to Consulting Firms

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is seeking a qualified consulting firm to supply personnel to perform professional services as described below. Interested consultants must upload a proposal by 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) May 1, 2024, to the Bid Express page to be considered for selection.

Consultant Prequalification

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

• 231 – Traffic Control Analysis and Design

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.

Anticipated Consultant Scope

KDOT anticipates the following to be included in the consultant’s scope: KDOT is looking for embedded staff to provide full-time, in-house, technical assistance to the Permanent Signing Unit. This work includes project management and administration, preparation and review of highway signing plans (include sign and seal of final plans), review of plans submitted by consultants, and assisting KDOT staff with preliminary engineering. The engineer will also serve as project manager for the High-Performance Signing Program, which includes project management and administration, general communication, and completion of monthly progress reports. The engineer will also provide permanent signing training to KDOT staff (3-6 hours per week). The engineer must have an active Professional Engineering License in the State of Kansas. The engineer will work at KDOT headquarters in Topeka, Kansas an average of one to two days per week. The engineer may also provide these services off-site if not able to work at headquarters (with prior approval by KDOT).

Consultant staff will be utilized a minimum of 40/60 hours per week excluding holidays. Hours may be split between multiple employees of the firm. KDOT does not anticipate overtime rate payments. The contract period will be two years with an option for three, one-year extensions.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

1. Proposals are due by or before 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) May 1, 2024.
2. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around May 3, 2024. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around May 17, 2024. An executed agreement is anticipated around June 17, 2024.
3. The program fiscal year for this project is FY2025 (July 2024–June 2025).
4. Anticipate start of July 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 counted as two or more pages depending on size.
3. A PDF (2MB maximum size) of the proposal must be uploaded to the appropriate bid form on Bid Express by the proposal due date and time.
4. The subject line of the email and the PDF file name must read:
   1. “EN-4504-25_In-House Signing Project Engineer FIRM NAME”
5. The proposal must be accompanied by Special Attachments No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”), No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”), and No. 12 (“Certification of Company Not Currently Engaged in the Procurement or Obtainment of Certain Equipment, Services, or Systems”). 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 1 below describes the expected proposal organization and content sections.
7. Table 2 lists the evaluation criteria and associated weights which will be used to make a selection.

Table 1: 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 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 KDOT Traffic Engineering Practices	Describe team’s familiarity with KDOT’s design process and standards. Describe familiarity with KDOT Bureau of Traffic Engineering and its practices.

Table 2: Evaluation Factors
Evaluation Factor	Weight
Qualifications and experience of project manager and other key project team members proposed for services	20%
Past performance history for similar projects/services for KDOT	15%
Availability to respond to the work	15%
Unique qualifications	5%
Approach to quality control	15%
The quality and completeness of the response	10%
Understanding of KDOT Technical Policies	5%
Demonstrated understanding of nature and scope of project	15%

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 Attachment No. 12 (“Certification of Company Not Currently Engaged in the Procurement or Obtainment of Certain Equipment, Services, or Systems”)

Questions

All questions regarding this Request for Proposals shall be submitted via Q&A section of bid form in Bid Express.

Questions can be submitted until April 18, 2024; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants on April 25, 2024.

Calvin Reed
Secretary
Department of Transportation

Doc. No. 052032