Volume 41 - Issue 20 - May 19, 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 letter of interest to KDOT.DesignContracts@ks.gov by 12:00 p.m. (CDT) June 8, 2022, to be considered for selection.

Consultant Prequalification

Interested consulting firms must be prequalified by KDOT or otherwise demonstrate qualification in the following Categories: 161 Corridor/Project Feasibility Studies; 211 Highway Design–Major Facility; 221 Non-Standard Span Bridge Design; 231 Traffic Control Analysis and Design; 301 Land Surveying; 302 Engineering Surveying; 336 Right of Way Services; and 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-6541-01	This project is the replacement of the Taylor Road bridge (BR#004) which carries traffic over I-70 in Geary County. This is a new interchange project which will require break in access.

Table 2: Project Summary
Project Number	Route and Scope	Length (mi)	Project Termini
KA-6541-01	I70–031 Bridge Replacement	N/A	N/A
Project Number	Structures BR#, Structure Scope, Structure Size and Type
KA-6541-01	Bridge #004 Bridge Replacement/New Interchange; Length: +/-216.5 feet, Roadway Width: 24 feet; Existing structure is a Reinforced Box Girder Continuous (RBGC) Bridge

Anticipated Consultant Scope

KDOT anticipates the following to be included in the consultant’s scope: Planning Study Services (Including: NEPA EA/EIS); Discovery Phase Services; Break in Access Study; and Public Involvement Services.

The selected consultant will need to gather and evaluate preliminary information. The NEPA boundary will be established, and public involvement will be conducted during the Discovery Phase.

Based on capacity improvement scope and funding needs identified and developed during the Discovery Phase, the consultant selected for this request for proposals may or may not be selected to continue providing service up through the Preliminary and/or Final Design phases. Additional phases which may be added later (at the Secretary’s discretion) may include Surveying; Right of Way; Preliminary Design Services; Final Design Services; Public Involvement Services; Geotechnical Engineering; Environmental Documentation Preparation (Permitting); Letting and Construction Phase Services; 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.

Environmental

• High-level data gathering.
• Identify potential issues.
• Subsequent phases may include:
  • Completing environmental data collecting and analysis.
  • Submitting findings.
  • Final permitting.

Road Design

• Discovery Phase including NEPA (EA/EIS).
• Visit the project site location.
• Subsequent phases may include:
  • Develop Plans to Materials and Research.
  • Develop Preliminary Plans to Field Check.
  • Develop Office Check Plans.
  • Develop Final Plans for Construction.
  • Perform roadway geometric design, drainage design, and roadside safety analysis.

Survey and Right of Way

• KDOT is in the process of completing a full topographic survey of the project site with an estimated completion date of June 13, 2022.
• Subsequent phases may include:
  • Supplemental survey if needed.
  • Establish and determine impacts to right of way and utilities.
  • Building of the existing right of way.
  • Based upon consultant’s field survey data and historical KDOT project information, consultant shall establish and compile into a right of way strip map the positions and locations of the existing highway right of way and property lines for the ownership adjacent thereto. Consultant shall perform these activities using coordinate geometry and Bentley Open Site Designer.

Bridge Design

• Discovery Phase.
• Subsequent phases may include:
  • The consultant will propose and evaluate different framing layouts for review and acceptance by the KDOT Bridge Office; focus shall be to minimize disruption to the site and facilitate efficient construction to minimize impacts to I-70.
  • Develop Preliminary Plans to Field Check.
  • Perform hydraulic analysis and determine type, size, and location of proposed replacement structures.
  • Final Design.

Traffic Engineering

• Discovery Phase.
• Subsequent phase may include:
  • Develop permanent signing, lighting, and pavement marking plans.
  • Develop Traffic Control Plans.

Transportation Planning

• Determine present and future traffic projections for adjacent interchanges using the current Flint Hills travel demand model.
• Estimate truck traffic using the Flint Hills travel demand model and KDOT’s traffic flow maps.
• Work with the city/county on land-use developments that may not be reflected in the model.
• Develop both daily and a.m./p.m. peak hour traffic for base/future year traffic for the study area.
• Level-of-Service analysis using either Synchro/SimTraffic, HCS, or VISSIM.
• Data collection of present traffic (counts) as needed or deemed necessary.
• Coordinate information with the Transportation Planning Forecasting Group.

Activities to be performed by KDOT include:

• Environmental services, including lead paint and asbestos testing and permit application.
  • Note: Technical data to support these activities will be required from the consultant immediately after field check.
• 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. (CDT) June 8, 2022
2. The program fiscal year for this project is FY 2027 (July 2026 - June 2027)
3. Other important dates:
   1. Survey Complete: Spring 2022
   2. Begin Study: August 29, 2022
   3. End Study: May 29, 2023
   4. Plans to Materials and Research: January 8, 2024
   5. Field Check: October 8, 2024
   6. Plans to Right-of-Way: December 23, 2024
   7. Plans Complete: October 20, 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 6 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 PDF (2MB maximum size) of the proposal 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-6541-01–Replace BR004 on I-70 in Geary Co_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
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	20%
Past performance history for similar projects/services for KDOT	25%
Approach to quality control	10%
Understanding of the project area	10%
Knowledge of the NEPA process	10%
Demonstrated understanding of nature and scope of project	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 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 May 26, 2022; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants on June 1, 2022.

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

Doc. No. 050156