6982AF23R000003 AE IDIQ 2023 RFQ.pdf

6982AF23R000003

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

CENTRAL FEDERAL LANDS HIGHWAY DIVISON

2023 FULL-SERVICE IDIQ

Request for Qualification (RFQ) 6982AF23R000003

Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD) of the Federal Highway Administration anticipates awarding four or more Full-Service Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for architect-engineer (A-E) services. Projects will primarily involve improvements to rural low-volume roadways in environmentally sensitive areas requiring context-sensitive design solutions for work ranging from pavement preservation to 3R (resurfacing, restoration and rehabilitation) to full reconstruction. Transportation-related engineering and surveying services will include all work needed to conduct planning, scoping, environmental compliance, preliminary and final design to prepare contract documents in support of several Federally funded programs administered by CFLHD.

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is being issued as an unrestricted competitive acquisition in accordance with FAR 6.1, Full and Open Competition with at least one award reserved as a partial Small Business Set-Aside. The NAICS code for this procurement is 541330, Engineering Services. All A-E firms are required to be licensed and registered within one or more of the states served by CFLHD (states are listed under the General Scope of Work section of this solicitation). Professional documents produced under each contract will require a Professional Engineer and/or a Registered Land Surveyor license relative to the state in which the project work is located.

There may be three or more awards made under this solicitation. Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts will be awarded for a total of 5 years. Task orders issued under the basic contracts will include a specific statement of work and will be negotiated individually. The minimum order guarantee is $25,000 per each individual contract, with a shared maximum contract value not to exceed 5-year total of $60,000,000. The Government makes no representation as to the number of task orders or the actual amount of work to be ordered.

Contractors are not guaranteed work in excess of the minimum guarantee.

This requirement is being advertised on a full and open basis with a partial small business set-aside of at least one awards.

Selected firms must comply with Equal Employment Opportunity requirements in accordance with FAR 22.8. Subcontracting plans will be required by the selected large businesses in accordance with FAR 19.7. The subcontracting plan must show the firm’s intended use of small business, HUBZone small business, small, disadvantaged business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business concerns. Subcontracting Plans are not required with submission of SF 330.

GENERAL SCOPE OF WORK:

CFLHD operates as part of the Office of Federal Lands Highway, serving the transportation engineering needs of Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMA) such as the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management and State and Local Agencies. The roadways associated with CFLHD projects are typically maintained by the local counties, state DOTs, or FLMAs. Work under the contract will be for Federally funded road projects with the majority of work being funded through the Federal Lands Transportation Program (FLTP) and Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)”.

Projects are typically located in environmentally sensitive areas that necessitate context-sensitive design techniques and processes. Project topography type and climatic zones vary greatly including coastal, mountainous, desert and plains regions. The geographic jurisdiction of CFLHD includes, but is not limited to, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Highway segments will be designed in accordance with current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) policy, Federal Lands Highway procedures, Federal Lands Highway Project Development and Design Manual with CFLHD supplements, and/or specific project criteria as determined by CFLHD. The CFLHD uses either the International System of Units (Metric) and U.S. Customary Units (English) for projects.

Deliverables must be provided in the following formats: GEOPAK© (highway and earthwork design); MicroStation©. DGN file format (plans and drawings); HEC-RAS and/or SMS (hydraulic modeling), OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition, ESRI ArcGIS format (environmental studies field data), the current version of Microsoft Office© (word processing, spreadsheet, database, project etc.), the Engineer’s Estimate, Bidding, Award, and Construction System (EEBACS), and eDelivery.

Some project development activities may be performed by CFLHD, by other Government agencies, or by other consulting firms. Value Engineering, Agency coordination, document and report preparation, management of public meetings, and other public/agency involvement may be required.

SERVICES REQUIRED UNDER THE CONTRACT:

The scope of task orders may include, but is not limited to:

(A) Project Management involves the leadership of the project through activities such as close coordination and collaboration with the CFLHD project manager, coordination with the CFLHD internal Project Support Team (PST), subconsultants, and external agencies. Project management will also involve management of the project scope, schedule, budget, and the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) process as well as involvement and leadership in project decisions that affect the development and delivery of contract documents.

(B) Highway design activities utilizing context-sensitive design principles in performance of tasks such as reconnaissance and conceptual studies; safety reviews, analyses, and studies; value engineering studies; preliminary design and line and grade studies; earthwork estimations; final design; and preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E).

(C) Environmental compliance services such as studies, recommendations, and reports for:

waters of the U.S., threatened and endangered species, sensitive species, cultural resources, hazardous materials, wild and scenic rivers, noise, air quality, visual quality, and farmlands; the preparation of documents required for the National Environmental Policy Act and DOT Section 4(f) and 6(f) provisions; and the preparation of applications and supporting documents for Clean Water Act Section 404 permits, 401 certifications, and 402 storm water permits and for State-required environmental permits. Management of public meetings and other public/agency involvement may be required.

(D) Geotechnical engineering including, but not limited to, comprehensive identification of geologic hazards through site reconnaissance and surface and subsurface investigations;

geophysical studies; shallow and deep foundation design; retaining wall design; earthwork shrink/swell recommendations; earthwork cut and fill slope recommendations; soil and rock slope stability and excavation methods; erosion survey and mitigation; material source characterization; landslide analyses and mitigation recommendations; instrumentation deployment; and laboratory testing of materials.

(E) Bridge and Structural design, assessment, and inspection activities including, but not limited to, determining structure type, size, and location (TS&L); designing concrete, steel, and timber bridges (vehicular, pedestrian, and combination) in accordance with current LRFD AASHTO Bridge Design Specifications; implementing accelerated bridge construction (ABC) technologies such as prefabricated bridge elements and systems (PBES), slide-in bridge construction and geosynthetic reinforced soil - integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS); designing seismic retrofits for existing structures; designing retaining walls; performing structure inspections (bridge, culvert, retaining wall, and tunnel); load rating structures (bridge and culvert); preparing structure rehabilitation plans; performing structure constructability reviews; determining structure construction schedules and preparing structure plans, specifications, and estimates

(PS&E).

(F) Hydraulic and hydrologic engineering for the determination of roadway surface and topographic drainage including: design discharges; water surface profiles using 1-Dimensional and 2-Dimensional hydraulic modeling; floodplain and scour analyses; culvert and drainage system surveys and assessments; culvert and headwall design; compliance with FEMA regulations; and development and preparation of certain permit applications and state specific permits.

(G) Pavements and Materials services such as: materials recommendations and specifications for materials commonly used in the construction of roads and bridges for Federal, State or Local Agencies; and pavement design analysis and structural section recommendations for aggregate surfacing, flexural and ridged pavements.

(H) Surveying and mapping services, such as: photogrammetric mapping and/or ground surveys;

cadastral surveys; bridge site surveys; location and final design surveys; analytical aerial triangulation; digital terrain modeling; and compilation of topographic and planimetric features.

(I) Right-of-way and utility services, such as: preliminary right-of-way studies and boundary compilations; preparation of right-of-way plans, legal descriptions and highway easement deeds;

right-of-way acquisition processes including appraisals, negotiations and acquisition; utility research and coordination, utility designation and location; and utility conflict resolution and relocation plans and agreements.

(J) Support CFLHD-led construction administration by performing post-design support and review services of contractor submitted documents such as, but not limited to, false work and structures submittals; value engineering proposals; and site visits with CFLHD personnel to review construction progress.

(K) Transportation planning activities, such as analysis of transportation needs and priorities and opportunities for multi-modal integration and alternative transportation systems development.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Firms responding to this RFQ will be evaluated to determine the most highly qualified firms to perform the required services in accordance with the published selection criteria. Failure to comply with instructions or provide complete information may affect the firm’s evaluation or disqualify the firm from further consideration. A firm must demonstrate its qualifications, as well as the qualifications of each subconsultant, with respect to the published evaluation criteria.

The following evaluation criteria are in descending order of importance. Firms shall address all evaluation criteria listed below. If the evaluation criteria is not addressed elsewhere on the SF 330, firms shall respond to evaluation criteria in Section H of the SF 330.

(1) Specialized Experience and technical competence demonstrated on projects previously completed by the firm and its subconsultants to perform work typically on rural low-volume two-lane highways in environmentally sensitive areas requiring context-sensitive design solutions for all disciplines included under sections (A) through (K) of the Services Required section of the RFQ. Representative experience should include work for Federal, State, and Local agencies in the states under CFLHD jurisdiction.

(2) A demonstrated Project Delivery process, including a QA/QC program that shows a project management led organizational structure, approach, and philosophy throughout the project lifecycle and that shows the successful completion of multidiscipline task orders that may include multiple project stakeholders and review agencies.

(3) Professional Qualifications of the firm, staff, and subconsultants identified to work on the contract. Qualification statements should clearly identify the specialized qualifications of those individuals anticipated to work on the contract that align with the type and scope of work to be performed.

(4) Use of innovative project delivery methods (design process improvements, including, but not limited to, packaging, data collection, field investigation, contract document preparation, and use of technology), risk and opportunity management strategies, and scalable approaches, to streamline the project delivery process and meet agency goals for percent funds on the ground.

Example projects highlighting innovation, risk management, and project scalability do not necessarily have to be rural low-volume two-lane highways but should be applicable to that type of work.

(5) Workload management strategy and processes demonstrated on projects previously completed by the firm and its subconsultants and projected capacity of firm to deliver this IDIQ contract in a high quality and timely manner with staff and subconsultants anticipated to work on the contract. Also, identify the firm and subconsultants size standards (small or large business) under the NAICS code identified in this notice and demonstrate how small business participation will be encouraged under the resulting contract.

(6) Demonstrated recent (0-10 years) past performance on contracts in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules and relationships working with Federal, State and/or Local Government Agencies.

(7) Distribution of the firm’s facilities and the ability to deliver projects in the CFLHD 14-State jurisdiction. Identify office location(s) of firm and subconsultants and the distribution of capabilities, services, and staff within each facility location.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Firms desiring to be considered must submit an electronic .PDF copy containing the completed SF 330. The front cover will show the submitting firm’s name and address, the solicitation number, closure date of the solicitation, and any other pertinent information. Divide the .PDF into the following labeled sections:

NOTE: Failure to follow the instructions set forth in this solicitation will be deemed incomplete.

• Section 1 must include a cover letter limited to one page.

• Section 2 must include the Part I of the SF 330 (without instructions), with subsections for Items A through I. Provide an organizational chart under Item D including CFLHD, the prime consultant and all subconsultants listed under Item C. In Item E, provide only resumes of key personnel that are anticipated to work on the contract. Provide detail on the role the individual had in example projects, including whether the individual served in a lead or support role. Item F is limited to 10 projects showing examples of past performance relevant to general scope of work, quality, budgeting, timeliness and innovative project delivery. Example projects should at a minimum include project scope, schedule, size, cost, and lists of the project staff and subconsultants on the project with detail on the roles and responsibilities of each team member.

Modify Item G accordingly to reflect the number of projects shown in Item F and number of staff shown in Item E. Item H may include other superior performance indicators, including subject matter and point of contact not covered in Item F, as well as other responses to the evaluation criteria that are not responded to elsewhere.

• Section 3 will include Part II of SF 330 and should include a bookmark for each firm. Submit data that the firm feels adequately demonstrates experience and qualifications to perform the required work.

The submitted package is limited to 50 pages total, 8.5" x 11". Pages must be numbered consecutively. Only page numbers 1-50 will be considered during evaluations. Font for body copy must be Times New Roman and no smaller than 10 pt. Table font must be Times New Roman and no smaller than 8 pt. Cover, cover letter, tabs, table of contents, back covers and section dividers will not be counted toward the page limit. Please do not submit any literature such as brochures, capability statements, etc.

**In accordance with the FAR 36.601-4(b) contracts for architect-engineer services may only be awarded to firms permitted by law to practice the professions of architecture or engineering.

Firms must submit proof that they are permitted by law as required by FAR 36.601-4(b). If a firm is in a jurisdiction that requires AE firm registration, the firm must provide proof of registration. If a firm is in a jurisdiction that does not require AE firm registration, the firm must provide proof eligibility to practice (e.g., a summary explaining eligibility under the laws of that jurisdiction). Failure to submit the required proof could result in a firm’s elimination from consideration.

**Firms who are offering as a joint venture should include with their submission a copy of the joint venture agreement. Failure to include the joint venture agreement may result in the firm’s elimination from further evaluation. The joint venture agreement is not included in the 50-page limit.

Only responses received prior than 2:00 p.m., Lakewood, Colorado local time, September 14, 2023 will be considered. All submittals must be submitted electronically to Sheri.Walsh@dot.gov There is a 20MB limit size for emails submitted. If attachment size is greater than 20MB then send in separate emails and add 1 of x, 2 of x, etc.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. This is a two-phased solicitation. In the first phase of the evaluations, potential contractors will be evaluated in terms of the factors/criteria identified above. Submissions will be evaluated against the factors above as they relate to the requirements of the solicitation, as well as evaluated for meeting mandatory responsibility criteria per FAR Subpart 9.1. A detailed evaluation will be made of the submissions.

Submissions must demonstrate a thorough understanding of and the capability to accomplish the overall requirements as stated in the above stated selection criteria.

In the second phase of the evaluations, oral presentations/interviews will be required for the short-listed firms notified by the government. In-person interviews will be conducted with the offerors determined to be the most qualified based on evaluation of SF-330’s and selection criteria. Offerors should be prepared to discuss all aspects of the selection criteria and demonstrate their ability to fulfill all project requirements. Key representative staff from the mailto:Sheri.Walsh@dot.gov offeror’s team (prime and subconsultants) should be available for the interview. Emphasis will be placed on the firm’s understanding of the unique aspects (listed above) of CFLHD projects, providing qualified personnel, personnel management process, and internal quality assurance processes.

Interviews will be hosted at Central Federal Lands Highway Division building located at 12300 West Dakota Avenue Lakewood, Colorado.

Late responses will be handled in accordance with FAR 52.215-1.

Selection of firms for award shall be in accordance with FAR 36.602-3 and 36.602-4. Questions must be submitted no later than 2:00 p.m. Lakewood, CO time, September 7, 2023 in writing to CFLContracts@dot.gov. Answers will be posted on the SAM.Gov website.