Construction Engineering, & Inspection (CE&I) Services for the Brickyard Road, Monroe Avenue, and Oakfield/Palafox Area Drainage Improvement Projects CDBG-DR HS005

Escambia County, Florida is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Construction Engineering & Inspection (CE&I) Services for three Hurricane Sally-related regional drainage improvement projects funded through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR HS005) program. The three projects comprise the Brickyard Road Drainage Improvements (estimated construction cost of $1.45 million), which involves replacing a damaged 36-inch culvert pipe beneath Brickyard Road near Barth Road, extending the new culvert beneath CSX Railroad right-of-way, and reconstructing the roadway with shoulder armoring, headwall installation, and rip rap placement; the Monroe Avenue Drainage Improvements (estimated construction cost of $705,000), consisting of repair and re-stabilization of 500 linear feet of damaged articulated block ditch with Concrete Canvas overlay installation, removal and replacement of a double 36-inch arch pipe culvert with a cast-in-place box culvert, and roadway reconstruction including milling, resurfacing, curb and gutter installation; and the Oakfield/Palafox Area Drainage Improvements (estimated construction cost of $14.9 million), addressing drainage infrastructure improvements along N Palafox Street, Majors Road, Hancock Lane, Pacific Street, W Oakfield Road, Kenmore Road, Travis Street, and W Pinestead Road. The selected consultant will provide comprehensive inspection, project administration, field surveys, quality assurance, testing, progress payment documentation, and citizen interface services, exercising the same responsibility and authority as Escambia County when administering the construction contracts. Qualified consultants must demonstrate experience with a minimum of three similar CE&I projects completed within the past seven years, provide detailed references and resumes of key personnel, and demonstrate current workload capacity. Required insurance includes General Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), Workers Compensation (statutory limits), Business Auto ($1,000,000), and Professional Errors and Omissions coverage ($1,000,000/$2,000,000 aggregate). The evaluation process consists of two phases: Phase 1 scoring based on experience and qualifications (30% weighting), similar project experience (40% weighting), and current workload capacity (30% weighting), with selected firms invited to Phase 2 interviews for final ranking and award recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. The County prefers CE&I contract costs shall not exceed 7.5% of the estimated construction cost for each project, structured as a "Not to Exceed" agreement based on hourly rates for full-time onsite inspections. A mandatory pre-solicitation meeting is scheduled for March 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM via Microsoft Teams or in-person at the Escambia County Office of Purchasing; questions must be submitted by March 30, 2026 at 12:00 PM, and proposals are due April 6, 2026 at 10:00 AM via the electronic procurement portal.

Any firm previously awarded solicitations for this project related to environmental assessment, design services, or owner's representative services is ineligible to submit proposals for the CE&I contract. No set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or small business classifications are identified in the procurement documents. An executed Construction Engineering and Inspection Services agreement with DocuSign evidence of signature dated October 23-24, 2025, and a Regional Stormwater Hurricane Sally Infrastructure Repair Agreement executed on May 6-7, 2024, indicate prior contract activity for these projects; however, the current RFQ represents a new procurement process for CE&I services specifically. The projects incorporate existing preliminary engineering plans prepared by Sigma Consulting Group, Inc., including 60% draft plans for both the Brickyard Road and Oakfield/Palafox projects and preliminary plans for the Monroe Avenue project, which bidders must review and reference in their proposals. Total estimated construction costs across all three projects approximate $16.6 million, with allowable CE&I service fees potentially ranging from $1.24 million to $1.28 million (calculated at 7.5% of total estimated construction costs), though individual project contracts will be structured as separate "Not to Exceed" agreements based on hourly rates for full-time onsite inspection services.