Volume 43 - Issue 10 - March 7, 2024

State of Kansas

Department of Transportation

Request for Proposals

Notice to Consulting Firms

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is seeking a qualified consulting firm or team of firms to support and manage operations of the WICHway Statewide Traffic Management Center (TMC). Interested consultants must submit a proposal as laid out herein by 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) March 27, 2024, to be considered for selection.

Consultant Prequalification

Interested consulting firms must be prequalified by KDOT or otherwise demonstrate qualification in the following category(s):

• 163 – Congestion Management/ITS
• 231 – Traffic Control Analysis and Design

If a firm is not currently prequalified by KDOT, the firm may still submit a proposal but must also provide documentation that demonstrates the firm is qualified for each specified category listed in this notice for the project. Firms must use the KDOT prequalification form KDOT 1050–Consultant Qualification Questionnaire to provide this documentation. The KDOT 1050 Prequalification Category Definitions (Blue Book) can be found at http://www.ksdot.org/descons.asp. Consultants may create a team to meet the prequalification requirements. All firms doing business with KDOT must be registered and in good standing under the laws of the State of Kansas at the time of contracting and must comply with applicable state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.

Project Background

The Wichita TMC is located in Wichita, Kansas, co-located with Sedgwick County 911, and provides TMC functions such as sign and camera control, for both statewide devices and in the Wichita (WICHway) metro area. This contract is for engineering operations support and providing sufficient TMC operator positions (a minimum of one per shift) to provide 24/7 operator coverage and meet the operations objectives outlined in the scope below.

The contract will cover all operator staffing, training, management, and support (including up to four hours of support per month by a senior level engineer/principal). Workstations, phones, and computers will be supplied by KDOT, thus a field overhead rate would be expected for operators.

This is a yearly contract which may be extended for up to four additional years.

Anticipated Consultant Scope

Duties will be under the direction of the Buruea Chief of ITS and will include TMC operator staffing and management, day-to-day operations management, 24/7 phone support, Traffic Incident Management (TIM) training and coordination, performance measure reporting, assistance and coordination with ITS device/software integration and maintenance, and other functions necessary for efficient TMC operations to provide consistent sign messages and traveler information to the public.

Provide a scope of services/proposal to perform the following tasks:

1. Provide and train TMC operators for 24/7 coverage.
2. Manage TMC operators and day-to-day operations.
3. Provide 24/7 TMC 800 phone number.
4. Provide Traffic Incident Management (TIM) training and coordination with emergency responders (monthly and annual meetings) in the Wichita area.
5. Maintain TMC procedures to provide an efficient incident management program for the Wichita metro area.
6. Provide performance measure reports, cost/benefit analysis, annual reports and other TMC reporting as needed.
7. Support statewide road condition and incident data entry and monitor truck parking system as well as KDOT public websites including KanDrive.gov.
8. Provide ITS support for KDOT district staff as needed.
9. Assist with communication integration and troubleshooting to ensure functionality of statewide and Wichita ITS devices and coordination with KDOT maintenance contractor.
10. Provide guest/partner tours.
11. Represent KDOT at industry meetings.
12. Attend meetings, review plans, and provide integration support for KDOT’s ATMS software and support of ongoing software updates.
13. Perform other functions necessary for efficient TMC operation.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

1. Proposals are due by or before 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) March 27, 2024.
2. Anticipated Start Date: July 1, 2024.
3. Anticipated Calendar Completion Date: June 30, 2025.
4. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around April 10, 2024.
5. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around April 15, 2024. An executed agreement is anticipated around May 31, 2024.

Instructions for Proposal

1. No cost or pricing information shall be submitted with the proposal. Proposals including cost or pricing information will be considered non-responsive and withdrawn from further consideration.
2. The consultant’s proposal must not exceed 4 pages total (including any cover letter, index, etc.). All pages shall be standard letter size (8.5” x 11”). Any page larger than standard letter size will be counted as two or more pages depending on size.
3. A single PDF (10MB maximum size) of the proposal including all attachments must be uploaded to the appropriate bid form on Bid Express by the proposal due date and time.
4. The PDF file name must read:
   1. “KA-1832-25 Wichita Statewide (TMC) Operations and Support FIRM NAME”
5. The proposal must be accompanied by Special Attachments No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”); No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”), and No. 12 (“Certification of Company Not Currently Engaged in the Procurement or Obtainment of Certain Equipment, Services, or Systems”). If you need a Tax Clearance Certificate, you can request one at https://www.ksrevenue.gov/taxclearance.html. Allow 2-3 business days for processing. All attachments are required for every firm involved in a multi-consultant team. Upload these files as instructed in Bid Express.
6. The outline in Table 1 below describes the expected proposal organization and content sections.
7. Table 2 lists the evaluation criteria and associated weights which will be used to make a selection.
8. Depending on the number and quality of responses received, KDOT anticipates shortlisting (based on proposals) and holding interviews prior to final selection (which may be based on both proposals and interview content). If KDOT deems them necessary, evaluation criteria for interviews will be distributed to shortlisted consultant teams in advance.

Table 1: Proposal Content
Section	Description of Intent
Cover Letter	(No more than 1 page)
Project Approach	Describe how your firm will approach the project design efficiently and how your firm will approach the project integration and coordination efforts with KanDrive and KaITS. Include any unique, cost-effective, and/or optimized solutions planned for the design.
Approach to Quality Control	Describe methods or procedures your firm will use to provide all services with professional quality and technical accuracy.
Qualifications and Experience	For key personnel to be assigned to the project provide names, qualifications, education, training, and expertise. Identify their area(s) of responsibility and the percentage of their time dedicated to the project. List work for which you do not have in-house capability and name the firm you propose to subcontract with.
Past Performance	Describe the team’s past performance with respect to the ability to meet project schedules; quality of work; and ability to control costs on similar transportation projects, especially those performed for KDOT. Include three references and contact information.
Familiarity with KDOT and Project Area	Describe the team’s familiarity with KDOT’s inspection processes and standards. Describe familiarity with the project area and any identified special site conditions.

Table 2: Evaluation Factors
Evaluation Factor	Weight
The quality and completeness of the response	10%
Qualifications and experience of project manager and other key project team members proposed for services	25%
Proposed project approach	20%
Availability to respond to the work	20%
Past performance history for similar projects/services for KDOT	25%

Contract Terms and Conditions

A standard KDOT agreement for engineering and technical services will be used for professional services projects. The following special attachments will need to be provided by the selected consultant and all sub-consultants with the signed work order following negotiations and will become attachments to the contract.

• Special Attachment No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”)
• Special Attachment No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”)
• Special Attachment No. 12 (“Certification of Company Not Currently Engaged in the Procurement or Obtainment of Certain Equipment, Services, or Systems”)

Questions

All questions regarding this Request for Proposals shall be submitted via Q&A section of bid form in Bid Express.

Questions can be submitted until March 14, 2024; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants by March 21, 2024.

Calvin Reed
Secretary
Department of Transportation

Doc. No. 051923