Notice For Consultant Services
(Request For Qualifications)
Notice is hereby given that the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (DOH) is soliciting qualification for the purpose of making available a list of pre-qualified Consultants to be utilized to provide engineering services for railroad, railroad bridge, and miscellaneous railroad projects. The work generally consists of structural inspections, preparation of contract plans and related documents. Successful Consultants must be capable of performing 51% of the work as the prime Consultant. This list of prequalified Consultants will be made available on the WVDOH website and will be open for submission of qualifications through November 30, 2021.
Once approved, that Consultant’s name shall be placed on the list of Consultants prequalified to participate in this program. Those Consultants selected and placed on a master list MUST resubmit their CCQQ each year on or shortly after the first day of January to remain on the list, or at any time any of the required information changes.
Pre-qualifications of consultant(s) shall be based on an evaluation of the criteria requested which shall include, but is not limited to: design related experience; technical competence; capability to perform; and past performance.
The areas of work required for the railroad engineering services will include, but are not limited to, the following items: Drainage Design; Geotechnical Design; Preliminary and Final Roadway and/or Bridge Design with preparation of plans and specifications; Environmental and Permitting Compliance, if necessary; Surveys, Right-of-Way Acquisition; Hydraulic Analysis for both Bridge and Roadway.
All design elements shall meet all current DOH design policies and procedures. These procedures include, but are not limited to: Design Directives, Drainage Manual, Bridge Design Manual, Erosion and Sediment Control Manual, Traffic Engineering Directives, and Standard Details Volumes 1 and 2. These documents are available at the DOH website http://www.transportation.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx. Additionally, all design shall meet all current appropriate AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (latest edition), Seismic Design Specifications for Highway Bridges (latest edition), and AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (latest edition).
All Consultants requesting to be considered MUST hold a valid Certificate of Authorization (COA) and have an individual who shall be in charge of the work, who will sign and seal all design documentation, plans, etc., and must be registered and licensed with the West Virginia Board of Professional Engineers. The Consultant’s Engineer in-charge shall be responsible for all aspects of the design of the project (road, bridge, hydrology, and geotechnical). This individual must have a minimum of five (5) years experience and expertise in the design of roads and bridges, utilizing WVDOH design policies.
The design team shall meet the following minimum qualifications:
- The design team shall have personnel with experience and expertise in all phases of rail system design, bridge structure design, and bridge/structural inspections.
- The lead bridge design engineer shall have experience and expertise in the design of bridges utilizing DOH design policies with experience and expertise in the design of projects of similar scope and magnitude.
- The lead hydraulic engineer shall have experience and expertise in hydraulic analysis/engineering and bridge scour.
- The design team shall have the necessary equipment and personnel to provide the designs and plans in a timely manner.
Consultants interested in being considered for pre-qualification must submit a “Letter of Qualification” and one unpriced prospectus to DOH.consultantservices@wv.gov beginning January 19, 2021 through November 30, 2021.
As a minimum, the prospectus shall include the following evaluation information factors:
1. Professional qualifications necessary for consideration and satisfactory performance of the required work and as a minimum shall have a professional engineer licensed by the State of West Virginia. That person shall be located within the office where the work is to be performed, and shall demonstrate sufficient past experience performed for the State of West Virginia, Division of Highways related to design and plan development to be provided. This individual shall be the person-in-charge overseeing the work and must be readily accessible to the Division, preferably located in-state.
2. Consideration shall be given to specialized experience and technical competence. Specialized experience shall focus on the qualifications of the staff working on the project with emphasis placed on individual specialized expertise required for the project. As a minimum, the Consultant shall provide a Résumé of those individuals who will be committed to the needs of the project. Strong considerations will be based on the professional and non-professional staff specialized experience and technical competence stationed within the office where the work is to be performed.
3. Capacity consideration shall be made on the Consultant’s ability to accomplish the work within the Department’s required schedule time frame; personnel dedicated to perform such work.
4. Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules. In addition, the information provided for past work performed should include:
- Information sufficient to show the minimum qualifications stated in items above.
- A list of applicable project experience in the past five (5) years.
- The name of owner for whom the work was performed.
- The names and phone numbers of owner’s representatives who can verify and discuss the Consultant’s participation in these projects.
- A brief description of each project size and type, including any unusual features.
5. Location shall be based on the geographic location of the Consultant’s office relative to the project site along with past experience and knowledge of the area where the project site is located with the significant importance being given to accessibility of the office location relative to the Department.
In addition to the above evaluation factors, the prospectus shall include, as a minimum, the following items:
1. A completed copy of the Division’s Consultant Confidential Qualification Questionnaire dated January 1, 2021 or later, if not already on file. It must specifically indicate the staff levels by classification located in-state vs. out-of-state.
2. Location of office or office(s) in which the work, or part of the work, will be performed.
3. Identification of subconsultants by name as to the type of work anticipated to be subcontracted or performed, if proposed as part of the design team.
4. Identification of software (including design software) that may potentially be utilized for this project.
5. Indication of whether a cost accounting system has been maintained and is in effect such that it is capable of segregating and identifying accumulating costs for each job that is performed under cost type projects.
6. Completed copies of the Division’s “Consultant Short List Selection Criteria Technical Evaluation” form limited to a single page of data. One loose leaf copy of form is to accompany the bound unpriced prospectus. Cross referencing on this form to other parts of the prospectus is not acceptable.
7. A copy of a valid “Certificate of Authorization” to offer Engineering, Surveying, or other related services within the state, issued by the appropriate West Virginia Board.
A single “Letter of Qualification” and one unpriced prospectus are required and must contain all of the above information required to be considered. Failure to provide the required information and/or insufficient information will cause disqualification and the prospectus will be returned. All evaluation factors as noted herein before will be given equal consideration in the selection process, unless a project specific weighting of the evaluation factors is shown in the Notice for Consulting Services.
Prior to entering into any contract negotiations, the selected Consultant and any subconsultants shall submit a current audited overhead rate computation performed by a State or Federal government agency or independent CPA firm. The submitted overhead audit shall contain a detailed exhibit of the computations with all applicable eliminations and references. The audit shall be done in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and all eliminations required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations will be made. The submitted certified audited overhead (Indirect Cost Rate) report shall include the certification, certifying that the allowability of costs used to establish the final indirect cost rate are in accordance with the FAR cost principles, or a verification indicating this certification was previously submitted and accepted by the cognizant agency. This requirement will be waived for the selected Consultant or any subconsultant when its portion of the fee for the project is less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00). In such instances, a company computed overhead rate may be utilized.
It is the policy of the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, that Disadvantaged and Women-owned Business Enterprises shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.