Volume 43 - Issue 18 - May 2, 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 or team of firms to perform professional services for the KDOT Headquarters Fiber Connection Project as described. Interested consultants must submit a proposal as laid out herein by 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) May 29, 2024, to be considered for selection.

Consultant Prequalification

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

• 163 – Congestion Management/ITS

If a firm is not currently prequalified by KDOT in any of the required categories, 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 solicitation 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.

Project Background

KDOT is installing fiber along I-70 in Topeka, Kansas as part of KA-1266-04 (Polk Quincy project) which is planned to be let in the fall of 2024. Fiber will end near I-70 and 6th Street. KDOT plans to connect its headquarters building located in the Eisenhower State Office Building (ESOB) to the location where I-70 crosses 6th Street. Fiber will need to be designed and installed between I-70 and 6th Street and a handhole outside the KDOT building at 700 SW Harrison.

Anticipated Consultant Scope

The designer’s scope of work will include design of the conduit/fiber installation including developing plans for construction, coordination with the City of Topeka to determine the fiber path and develop a city-state agreement, coordination to identify existing utilities, coordination with project KA-1266-04 to determine the best fiber connection point and construction schedule, and construction support once the project is let.

Provide a scope of services/proposal to perform the following tasks:

1. Project management.
2. Pre-Design: Including kick-off and biweekly coordination meetings, field reviews, local agency and city coordination, utility coordination, conceptual plan, and engineer’s estimate.
3. Coordination with project KA-1266-04 for fiber connection plans and construction scheduling.
4. Prepare 95% plans (final date to be determined after award): Including base mapping, quality control review, incorporation of KDOT ITS specifications, traffic control plans, and engineering estimates.
5. Prepare final plans two months after 95% submittal: Incorporate KDOT design comments and finalize plans sheets.
6. Provide post-letting construction support services such as progress meetings, submittal, and shop drawing reviews, addressing construction questions, and plan sheet revisions if necessary.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

1. Proposals are due by or before 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) May 29, 2024.
2. Anticipated Start Date: July 22, 2024.
3. Anticipated Calendar Completion Date: To be based on the schedule developed during design.
4. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around June 12, 2024.
5. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around June 17, 2024. An executed agreement is anticipated around July 8, 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 single PDF (10MB maximum size) of the proposal including all attachments must be uploaded to the appropriate bid form on Bid Express by the proposal due date and time.
4. The PDF file name must read:
   1. “70-89 KA-7290-01 KDOT Headquarters Fiber Connection Project 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. Upload these files as instructed in Bid Express.
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.
8. Depending on the number and quality of responses received, KDOT anticipates shortlisting (based on proposals) and holding interviews prior to final selection (which may be based on both proposals and interview content). If KDOT deems them necessary, evaluation criteria for interviews will be distributed to shortlisted consultant teams in advance.

Table 1: Proposal Content
Section	Description of Intent
Cover Letter	(No more than 1 page)
Project Approach	Describe how your firm will approach the project design efficiently and how your firm will approach the project integration and coordination efforts with KanDrive and KaITS. Include any unique, cost-effective, and/or optimized solutions planned for the design.
Approach to Quality Control	Describe methods or procedures your firm will use to provide all services with professional quality and technical accuracy.
Qualifications and Experience	For key personnel to be assigned to the project provide names, 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 with.
Past Performance	Describe the team’s past performance with respect to 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 inspection processes and standards. Describe familiarity with the project area and any identified special site conditions.

Table 2: Evaluation Factors
Evaluation Factor	Weight
The quality and completeness of the response	10%
Qualifications and experience of project manager and other key project team members proposed for services	25%
Proposed Project Approach	20%
Availability to respond to the work	20%
Past performance history for similar projects/services for KDOT	25%

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 sub-consultants 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 May 16, 2024; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants by May 23, 2024.

Calvin Reed
Secretary
Department of Transportation

Doc. No. 052117