04A7553 - A&E On-Call Hydraulics Engineering Services, District 04

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Division of Project Delivery, District 04, is soliciting Statements of Qualifications from qualified firms to provide Hydraulics Engineering Services on an as-needed basis throughout nine Northern California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. The consultant will deliver consultation, research, and technical services from project phase 0 through phase 3 completion, including engineering studies, project development, design support, hydraulic analysis, and construction phase assistance, with specific work locations to be identified in individual task orders. Excluded from scope are bridge hydraulic analysis, scour mitigation at bridges, and Information Technology-related activities. Key personnel requirements include a Consultant Contract Manager with a minimum of five years of contract management experience and ten years of documented hydraulics engineering experience, holding a current California Professional Engineer license, along with a Consultant Task Order Manager and licensed hydraulic engineers. The dual-stage selection process begins with SOQ evaluation followed by interviews of short-listed firms scheduled for June 23, 2026, at 111 Grand Avenue, Oakland, California, with final selection based on technical competency and qualifications rather than lowest cost. Statements of Qualifications must be submitted electronically by June 8, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., with requirements questions due no later than seven business days after RFQ advertisement. Negotiations with the top-ranked firm will commence the week of July 30, 2026, with a final cost proposal completion date of August 11, 2026, and work expected to begin no later than November 30, 2026.

The contract includes mandated Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goals for federally funded portions and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) goals for state-funded portions, with specific percentage targets or documented good faith efforts required. Firms with 50 or more employees must submit workforce analysis charts and nondiscrimination plans, while all prime consultants and subconsultants must disclose in their transmittal letters whether they intend to use Generative Artificial Intelligence technology, with failure to disclose resulting in potential disqualification per Executive Order N-12-23. The consultant must maintain a stable workforce, submit a personnel retention plan, register with the California Department of Industrial Relations for prevailing wage compliance, and provide audited indirect cost rates prepared by an independent CPA for contracts valued at $3,500,000 or more. The estimated contract value ranges from $8,000,000 to $13,000,000 over the three-year term, with an established profit fee of ten percent and annual escalation rates of 1.71% for the period June 8, 2026, to June 30, 2027, and 3.42% for each subsequent year through June 30, 2030. Pricing terms are negotiated after selection of the Most Highly Qualified firm, with final agreed-upon costs fixed for the entire contract term. The predecessor contract 04A6813 will inform the transition timeline for this on-call services contract.