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(s) 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
• 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-6876-01	Clear zone improvements including grading, blunt end rail structure extensions for Bridge 016 and Culverts 505 and 506, and reinforced concrete box extensions.

Table 2: Project Summary
Project Number	Route and Scope	Length (mi)	Project Termini
KA-6876-01	160-017 Clear Zone Improvements	2.320	From 2.8 miles west of US-160/US-183/K-1 junction east to 0.5 mile west of the US-160/US-183/K-1 junction in Comanche County.
Project Number	Structure BR#, Structure Scope, Structure Size and Type
KA-6876-01	Culvert 505; Extension; Existing 2-7 feet x 7 feet x 32.5 feet RCB BR#016; Extension; Existing 2 at 7 foot spans 20.2 feet long Culvert 506; Extension; Existing 10 feet x 9 feet x 46 feet RCB 3 Reinforced Concrete Boxes; Extension; Existing 4 feet x 4 feet x 54 feet RCB; 6 feet x 5 feet x 54 feet RCB; 4 feet x 4 feet x 70 feet RCB

Anticipated Consultant Scope

KDOT anticipates the following to be included in the consultant’s scope: Preliminary Design Services, Final Design Services, Environmental Documentation Preparation (Permitting), and 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.

Road Design

• The consultant shall propose and design extensions to existing RCBs.
• Develop preliminary plans to field check.
• Develop final plans for construction.
• Perform roadway geometric design, drainage design, and roadside safety analysis.
• Run the roadside safety analysis program for the culverts greater than eight feet in height and present findings to KDOT.
• Visit the project site locations.

Bridge Design

• The consultant shall propose and design extensions to the existing bridge-sized box structures that are called for by the RSAP process in the Road Design Scope.
• Each existing and extended structure will be hydraulically evaluated using the HY-8 Culvert Hydraulics program and results documented in the current version of Hydraulic Assessment Checklist (HAC).
• Develop preliminary plans to field check for Bridge 017-0016 and Culverts 017-C505 and 017-C506.
• Develop final plans for construction.

Traffic Engineering

• Develop permanent signing and pavement marking plans.
• Traffic control plans: Traffic to be carried through staged construction.

Activities to be performed by KDOT include:

• Engineering survey (project is currently being surveyed; anticipated completion is late December 2022).
• Development of existing right of way.
• Environmental services, including lead and asbestos testing and permit application.
• Utility coordination, if required.
• Geotechnical services including soil investigations, bridge foundation geology, pavement field investigation and design, and surfacing recommendations.

*Note: 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 the following from consultant:

• Total project site area in acres.
• Total distributed 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.

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 25, 2023.
3. The program fiscal year for this project is FY2026 (July 2025–June 2026).
4. Important dates in Discovery Phase:
   1. Notice to Proceed: April 20, 2023
   2. PLNMR: July 12, 2023
   3. FDCHK: December 27, 2023
   4. PLROW: January 25, 2024
   5. PLNTE: January 14, 2025
   6. PLCOM: August 15, 2025
   7. LETTING: December 17, 2025

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-6876-01_ClearZoneImprovement_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 Road Design.

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. 050823