STOL 4 Sources Sought Notification (2025-10-07).pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Technical Research Services for the FHWA Office of Safety and Operations Research and Development

Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL4)

693JJ3-26-SS-0001

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE; BEING RELEASED PURSUANT TO

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10: MARKET RESEARCH.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is conducting market research to determine which organizations are interested and capable of performing the required services outlined in this notice.

This notice is issued solely for informational, market research, and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any further contract actions, i.e., solicitation and/or contract.

Respondents are advised that the United States Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in responding to this Sources Sought Notice. Not responding to this Sources Sought Notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation that may be issued. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S Government to form a binding contract.

An overview of the scope and objectives and the response instructions are provided below.

1 Scope

The Contractor shall supply non-personal services technical management and operations of the FHWA Office of Safety and Operations Research & Development (HRSO) Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory (STOL). The STOL conducts transportation research, development, testing, and technology transfer for HRSO, the USDOT Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO), and other FHWA Program Offices. Housed within the FHWA’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, Virginia, the STOL enables the FHWA to conceptualize, validate, and refine innovative transportation technologies and practices to improve traffic safety, efficiency, and reliability, prior to industry and public agency development and deployment. The STOL shapes the future of Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) by developing intelligent transportation solutions, advancing industry development and adoption.

The TFHRC includes an extensive connected road, traffic signals, and sensing networks that enable the STOL to perform a broad range of research in transportation safety and operations, including testing of connected, smart infrastructure. A connected and automated vehicle (CAV) fleet for research and development (R&D) is housed within the facility’s vehicle preparation garage, and connected laboratories onsite host state-of-the-art simulation and analysis tools.

Backed by a network of physical prototypes, test beds, and advanced simulation tools, the STOL enables the convergence of Federal staff, transportation researchers, academics, and industry collaborating on cutting-edge transportation research.

The Contractor shall provide technical research services to: 1) Manage, operate, and maintain the STOL and its equipment, testbeds, and fleet of research vehicles; 2) Conduct research focused on advancing the body of knowledge and technology to address national transportation goals; 3) Provide outreach and communications support and materials for HRSO and the STOL; and 4) Support conduct of research at off-site test facilities and open roads.

Leidos is the current contractor performing these services for FHWA under a 5 year, $75 million ceiling single award, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) contract (693JJ321D000010).

2 Objectives

The objectives of this requirement are to conduct research and development, to pilot technologies through collaboration, research, and testing, and to provide technology transfer to industry and public agencies. The STOL was established to conduct research with the intent to enhance the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the Nation’s transportation system. The contractor shall furnish non-personal technical research services to perform the activities described below:

A. Provide FHWA and the STOL with technical research and development services related to transportation safety and operations, and other agency initiatives; conduct research and development projects to improve traffic safety, operational efficiency and reliability, freight management, and traffic management systems capabilities; and advance ITS interoperability and the sharing and use of electronic data between infrastructure systems and connected road users.

B. Provide technical assistance, technical studies, and laboratory and field experiments that support the activities and strategies of HRSO, the Offices of Safety (HSA) and Operations (HOP), other FHWA program offices, the ITS-JPO, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) Highly Automated Systems Safety (HASS). Develop, design, build, and integrate systems, including hardware and software, and enable the sharing and use of electronic data between these systems in which traffic management systems, ITS devices, infrastructure systems, and road users interact with each other seamlessly to support enhanced safety, mobility, productivity, economic competitiveness, and overall customer satisfaction and livability.

C. Provide technical assistance, technical studies, and laboratory and field experiments in three primary research areas for HRSO:

i. Improving Highway Safety: Conduct research and development activities to achieve greater long-term safety improvements; reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on public roads; fill knowledge gaps that limit the effectiveness of research; and support technology transfer and workforce development. The research activities may include but are not limited to developing new concepts and tools for data collection and analyses;

innovative operational improvements; development, testing, and validation of new safety measures for vulnerable road users, including bicyclists and pedestrians; and conducting human factors studies and measures related to traffic safety and operations.

ii. Strengthening Transportation Planning: Conduct research and development activities to minimize the cost of highway infrastructure and operations and improve understanding and modeling of the factors that contribute to the demand for transportation and the transportation impacts. The research activities may include, but are not limited to creation of models and tools for evaluating transportation measures and transportation system designs, including costs and benefits; and congestion reduction efforts.

iii. Reducing Congestion, Improving Highway Operations, and Enhancing Freight Productivity: Conduct research and development activities to reduce traffic congestion; improve the mobility of people and goods; and reduce freight-related congestion throughout the transportation network. The research activities may include, but are not limited to development of new concepts for active transportation and demand management; evaluation, testing, and validation of ITS technologies; advanced transportation concepts and analysis to support arterial and corridor management and traffic signal operations;

development, testing, and validation of enabling technologies for transportation systems management and operations (TSMO), development, testing, and validation of new or enhanced TSMO strategies that are enabled by the application of advanced and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and decision support systems.

D. Provide technical and logistical services for operating, scheduling, and maintaining the STOL’s state of the art testbeds and equipment. This includes light duty vehicles equipped with a research-quality automated driving system, heavy duty (semi) trucks, signalized traffic intersections with a wide variety of detectors and sensors (LiDAR, Infrared Cameras, Closed-Circuit Television, radar, loop detectors, etc.)

and the fiber-optic and wireless communications backbone to support the complex array of roadside units (RSU), on-board units (OBU), and mobile devices.

E. Conduct technical and research services in support of ITS communications, Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services, mapping technologies, and cybersecurity and credential management. These include a variety of spectrum-related research such as Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) and cellular Vehicle-to- Network (V2N) communications, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning monitoring and correction, PNT assurance, Alternative PNT (APNT), mapping (situational awareness and context), and digital infrastructure.

F. Prepare effective communications and outreach products and services that document the research and development conducted in support of HRSO’s mission and activities, support technology transfer, and enable workforce development. The products include, but are not limited to, technical reports and briefs, presentations, videos, photographs, social media, exhibits, banners, and web pages. Outreach services include support for exhibit booths at major events and conferences, conducting webinars and workshops, conducting demonstrations, and providing presentations and training.

3 Instructions for Sources Sought Notice Capability Statement Responses:

Responses must be submitted electronically to the e-mail addresses below:

EMAIL: Daniel.Confer@dot.gov and HCFA-23SRI@dot.gov

SUBJECT LINE: STOL4 Sources Sought Response (company name)

Respondents should submit their responses no later than Noon Local Time (Washington, DC) October 21, 2025.

Format requirements are:

(1) An Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file formatted to print on 8.5”x11” size paper.

(2) Not more than 15 pages in length.

(3) The total page count of 15 pages includes ALL information provided including the cover letter, table of contents and acronym list.

(4) Size 11 font or larger shall be used with the exception of tables and other graphics.

(5) Responses may include links or web addresses that demonstrate evidence of technical expertise (final reports, technical journals, peer reviewed papers, etc.)

Proprietary information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice will be protected from unauthorized disclosure as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). All proprietary markings should be clearly delineated. The respondent shall identify where data is restricted by proprietary or other rights and mark it accordingly.

The cover page should contain:

(1) Company/Organization name

(2) Primary Point of Contact

(3) Phone Number and Email Address

(4) UEI Number

(5) NAICS Code(s)

(6) Business Size (small or large in relation to NAICS code(s) listed above).

(7) Socioeconomic Business Status: 8(a), HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small

Business (SDVOSB), or Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB).

(8) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS/MAS) and OASIS+ Contract Number(s), as applicable mailto:Daniel.Confer@dot.gov mailto:HCFA-23SRI@dot.gov

Technical Ability: The respondents’ technical ability section shall describe and demonstrate the ability of itself and/or its team to provide all of the services described in Parts 1 and 2 of this notice, including:

• Handling a volume of task orders that may reach 12-15 or more new task orders per fiscal year in addition to ongoing task orders (currently 29 active task orders).

• Providing technical support on a short notice and submitting technical and cost proposals on expedited timelines.

• Developing and providing the following types of products and other deliverables under the contract: white papers, technical reports, analytical tools, datasets, prototype control systems including hardware and software, demonstrations (including lab tours), workshops/seminars, case studies, handbooks, instructor guides and guidance documents, videos, technical briefs, articles, brochures, and website development.

• Experience with both data collection and management, including accessibility data and communications requirements.

• Comprehension of the state of the practice for Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) among transportation agencies.

• Understanding of new transportation technologies like Smart Infrastructure, Connected and Automated Vehicles, Digital Infrastructure, and use of Artificial Intelligence in transportation research and development.

• Comprehension of analytic systems and heuristics required to work with very large and heterogeneous data sets.

• Transportation model development and simulation analysis.

Scope Feedback: If desired, Sources Sought Notice respondents may also provide feedback on the overall intent and scope of this requirement.

Commerciality Feedback: The Government desires to make a determination regarding the commerciality of this requirement. Considering the definition of commercial services below from the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), does your firm consider this requirement to be commercial or non-commercial? Please explain why.

Commercial service means—

(1) Installation services, maintenance services, repair services, training services, and other services if—

(i) Such services are procured for support of a commercial product, as defined in this section regardless of whether such services are provided by the same source or at the same time as the commercial product; and

(ii) The source of such services provides similar services at the same time to the general public under terms and conditions similar to those offered to the Government;

(2) Services, including construction, of a type offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace based on established catalog or market prices for specific tasks performed or specific outcomes to be achieved and under standard commercial terms and conditions. For purposes of these services—

(i) Catalog price means a price included in a catalog, price list, schedule, or other form that the manufacturer or vendor regularly maintains, customers can inspect, and states prices at which sales are currently, or were last, made to a significant number of buyers constituting the general public; and

(ii) Market prices means current prices that are established in the course of ordinary trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain and that can be substantiated through competition or from sources independent of the offerors; or

(3) A service referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition, even though the service is transferred between or among separate divisions, subsidiaries, or affiliates of a contractor.

3.1 Clarification of Sources Sought Notice Responses

To fully comprehend the information contained within a response to this Sources Sought Notice, there may be a need to seek further clarification from respondents. This clarification may be requested in the form of brief verbal communication by telephone; written communication;

electronic communication; or a request for a presentation of the response to a specific FHWA group or groups. FHWA reserves the right to seek additional information from respondents.