Community Relations and Public Information for Highway 101 HOV Project

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) is soliciting proposals through this Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified firms and/or teams ("Offeror") to provide comprehensive public information and outreach services for the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project (Project). The requested services will support active construction segments in Montecito and Santa Barbara of the Project.

The Offeror will work collaboratively with SBCAG, Caltrans, construction management teams, local agencies, and community partners to ensure the public receives timely, accurate, and accessible information regarding construction activities, traffic impacts, and project milestones. Work includes development and dissemination of construction updates, responding to public inquiries, stakeholder outreach, media coordination, website and digital content support, participation in standing coordination meetings, and maintenance of public‑facing communication tools such as SBROADS.com and the SB Roads Hotline.

The Offeror should have demonstrated experience in transportation public outreach, construction communications, media relations, stakeholder engagement, and multi‑agency coordination on complex capital projects. Services are initially being sought through Fiscal Year 2026-27, ending June 30, 2027. Options to extend the contract will be available through the end of construction, currently anticipated to be complete by December 2028. The services performed by Offeror and included in the resulting contract may vary by Project segment, some of which are slated to conclude during the term of the contract.

SBCAG works closely with Caltrans to implement the construction of the Project. Offeror, in working for SBCAG, will also be required to work closely both through SBCAG and independently with Caltrans team members. This RFP includes a base scope of services being sought for the Project, specifically focused on construction segments in Montecito and Santa Barbara. This RFP also includes optional tasks that SBCAG may elect to exercise during the course of the contract period, for a separate mitigation project from one of the completed segments on the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara corridor. That project is the Toro Creek Fish Passage project (Toro Project). We ask that the Offeror acknowledge its willingness to negotiate in good faith with SBCAG on future services as described in the Scope of Services but Offeror is not required to submit any proposal of resources or costs.

Background

The Project has been in the planning and development process for decades.  The Project has been called Phase 4 of an overall Highway 101 phasing approach to close a gap of a two-lane segment of 16 miles between Mussel Shoals in Ventura County and Milpas Street in Santa Barbara. Previous phases were completed Phase 1: Milpas to Hot Springs in 2012, Phase 2: Mussel Shoals to Carpinteria in 2015 and Phase 3: Linden and Casitas Pass in 2020.

SBCAG and Caltrans, along with local agency partners approved a multimodal corridor plan in 2006 called 101 in Motion, which has formed the basis for the 101 widening and other improvements in the corridor, including companion rail service which was dubbed the "Lane and Train". Many of the 101 in Motion components to relieving congestion in this 101 corridor were included in Measure A, Santa Barbara County's local sales tax measure which was passed in 2008. Within Measure A the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara Project was the flagship project countywide and received about 13% of the total Measure A revenue. The project will add a third lane, which is a carpool lane, along with safety and operational improvements throughout the 11 miles from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara.

Implementation of the Project also included coordination with several complementary projects delivered in parallel to local intersections, access to coastal resources, or expanded active transportation options. These projects have primarily been implemented by local agency partners, with several remaining parallel projects still underway. SBCAG and Caltrans have coordinated closely with local agencies leading these efforts to support the corridor outcomes and success.

All pre-construction work on the Project has been completed.  The Project has been delivered in segments to align with available funding, minimize community impacts and maintain traffic flow during construction. Construction on the Project began in 2020 in Carpinteria and continues today with work underway in Montecito and Santa Barbara segments.

The current construction in the Montecito and Santa Barbara South segment is anticipated to be complete by end of 2026. The final segment, Santa Barbara North, began construction in May 2026 and is slated to be complete in 2028.

Caltrans and SBCAG have used the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) approach to deliver the current segments into construction. Granite Construction is the contractor selected by Caltrans for CMGC and also performing the on-going construction. SBCAG was the implementing agency during the design phase and continues to retain the services of Mark Thomas and Company for design support during construction. Caltrans is the implementing agency during construction. SBCAG has and will continue to lead the public information elements of the Highway 101 project in working with Caltrans, our designers, contractors and local agency partners. SBCAG serves as the regional project sponsor and funding partner along with Caltrans, with primary funding sources being Measure A (local transportation sales tax), Senate Bill 1, State Highway Operations and Protection Program (SHOPP), and state and federal gas tax funding.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-033
• Department: Project Delivery
• Department Head: Fred Luna (Director of Project Delivery & Construction)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-15T23:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-06-16T23:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-06-11T20:30:00.000Z — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81829037039

Evaluation Criteria

• Executive Summary (5 pts) —

  This section should include the offeror’s overall understanding of the project. This section should also provide a brief summary of what is to be covered in the remaining sections of the proposal. The offeror shall briefly outline its qualifications for performing work, its management and technical approaches for the project, and similar project experience. Within this section, the offeror shall also identify all subcontractors and the services subcontractors will provide.

  The proposal shall be signed by an individual authorized to bind the offer of said proposal. The proposal shall be a firm offer for a minimum of 90 days, and shall contain a statement to that effect.

• Implementation Approach (35 pts) —

  The Offeror shall outline its approach for the implementation of the Project. The implementation approach shall include, both any technical and management efforts require and shall include but is not limited to:

  1. A brief discussion of the methodology and approach used to implement each of the tasks in the RFP scope of services to complete the project.  Offeror shall provide a detailed scope of services by major tasks outlined in RFP and include any sub-tasks as necessary to clearly define the scope.
     
     
  2. A list of deliverables associated with the tasks defined in the Scope of Services.
     
     
  3. An assessment of supplemental data collection or other items and/or resources that will be required from SBCAG and our partner jurisdictions, as well as any non-governmental entities.
     
     
  4. A discussion of any undefined aspects that may be increase risk or effort during the development of the project.
  5. A discussion of supplemental tasks that may be deemed necessary to enhance the services provided, reduce cost or speed delivery of the project, if necessary.
  6. A management plan to describe how the Offeror’s team will be organized and managed and how it will be integrated into the existing organization structure of the Project and Project team.  Narrative should also discuss methods employed to ensure that the required work is done efficiently, maintains high quality, and is
  7. A schedule shall be provided to depict each of the primary tasks in the scope of services and reflect how the work will be implemented over the course of the proposed term of the agreement.   The schedule should be in a bar chart format.
• Experience of Offeror and Personnel (50 pts) —

  The offeror shall provide a brief description of relevant similar experience by members of the project team.  Experience shall be within the last three (3) years. The following information should be included in a table.

  1. Provide a brief description of offeror’s involvement in similar project efforts, particularly related to work provided for California public agencies and/or Public Works transportation construction projects and relevant experience related to the scope of services being requested.  Include how Offeror's team performed similar services on representative projects.  Include the following information for reference purposes:
     1. Members of offeror team (by name)
     2. Project description and services provided
     3. Total project cost
     4. Total cost of services provided
     5. Project start date and completion dates
     6. Budget and schedule performance
     7. Subcontractors involved
     8. Name, telephone number, and address of the offeror’s contact person
        
        
  2. Provide a matrix that shows proposed team members (specific individuals by name) and the projects they will work on.
     
     
  3. List all contracts terminated (partially or completely) by clients for convenience or default within the past three years.  Include contract value, description of work, sponsoring agency, contract number, name of contracting entity, and reason for termination. 
• Cost Proposal (10 pts) —

  The offeror shall provide a cost proposal that is fully inclusive of all services required to complete the scope of services. SBCAG prefers a firm fixed priced contract payable in monthly installments. The proposal should contain a statement that all work will be performed at a not-to-exceed price.
  
  Should a cost estimate be submitted that includes hourly rates, then the cost estimate should be in a spreadsheet format detailing total hours by task, name or classification, in addition to a total for the entire project. Labor costs shall include the offeror’s overhead rate, profit percent, and an itemized list for direct costs. Costs must be shown in a matrix format, by task, and show hours and base labor rates per staff member. Also, estimate offeror printing and other production costs for technical memoranda, drafts, and final reports. Any proposal in excess of $650,000 will be deemed non-responsive.

Submission Requirements

• Proposal Requirements (required) —

  Did you read through and confirm that you meet all of the proposal requirements?

• Agreement Example Review (required) —

  Did you read the Agreement Example in Attachments?

• Edits to SBCAG Agreement (required) —

  After reviewing the SBCAG standard agreement in Attachments, did you include any desired edits to the agreement within your proposal?

• Proposal (without Cost Proposal) (required) —

  Please upload your COMPLETE proposal here. Upload the Cost Proposal in the next step.

• Separate Cost Proposal (required) —

  Confirm that your Cost Proposal is not attached in your Proposal, and is attached separately here.

• Will this project be funded by Measure A? (required)
• Expectation of Execution of Contract (required) —

  Execution of the contract is expected no later than:

  Example: February 18, 2021.