Public Outreach Services for the State Route 55 Improvement Project between Interstate 5 and State Route 91

The Orange County Transportation Authority is soliciting proposals for public outreach services supporting the State Route 55 Improvement Project between Interstate 5 and State Route 91, with proposals due August 25, 2026 and a pre-proposal conference on August 4. The contract is a five-year initial term (with one optional three-year renewal) valued at $2,359,750 on a time-and-expense basis with fully burdened hourly rates.

The scope spans pre-construction and construction phases of a $202 million, 7.5-mile improvement project across Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana, and Tustin, with construction beginning in early 2027 and continuing approximately 3.5 years. The consultant must develop and implement comprehensive community engagement targeting residents, businesses, motorists, transit providers, and first responders through one-on-one meetings, city council presentations, email and text notifications, neighborhood meetings, interactive closure maps, social media, and canvassing. Deliverables include an Outreach Plan within 30 days of contract execution, multilingual communications materials, monthly progress reports with detailed labor and cost breakdowns by individual and task, and a final outreach summary report with strategy recommendations. The consultant must maintain a stakeholder database, coordinate all communications with elected officials and media through OCTA for approval, and provide performance metrics tracking. All communications and media outreach are subject to OCTA approval; the consultant provides information and recommendations only.

The four evaluation criteria, weighted as follows, are Qualifications of the Firm (20 percent), Staffing and Project Organization (25 percent), Work Plan (30 percent), and Cost and Price (25 percent). Pricing is structured as fully burdened hourly rates for Project Manager, Community Liaison, Account Coordinator, and Graphic Designer, with evaluation weighting Community Liaison at 47 percent, Account Coordinator at 44 percent, Graphic Designer at 5 percent, and Project Manager at 4 percent. Proposals remain firm for 120 days. The consultant must maintain Commercial General Liability ($1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate), Automobile Liability ($1 million combined single limit), Workers' Compensation, Employers' Liability ($1 million), and Professional Liability ($1 million, or $2 million per the Risk Management memo recommendation). Questions are due August 5, 2026. Board approval is anticipated on or before October 12, 2026, with contract execution by December 1, 2026. Interviews are scheduled for September 9 or 16, 2026.