SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · VTA PURCHASING
AI Summary
VTA seeks qualified firms to provide engineering services for the Lawrence Expressway Grade Separation Project, starting with the Project Validation Document phase and potential future design and construction support stages.
General work description:
VTA seeks proposals (each, a “Proposal”) from qualified firms (each, a “Proposer”) to provide the following engineering services (“Services”) for the Lawrence Expressway Grade Separation. The Services under this RFP are of interest to VTA to complete Project Validation Document (“PVD”) phase for the Lawrence Expressway Grade Separation (“Project”). The City of Santa Clara and the City of Sunnyvale are jointly referred to as the “Cities.”
The Project includes multiple phases of work which will need to be completed for the Lawrence Expressway Grade Separation Project, unless noted otherwise in Section VIII. SCOPE OF SERVICES. There may be future engineering work awarded in stages (“Additional Stages”), including Project Approval/Environmental Document (“PA/ED”), Final Designs – Plans, Specifications, and Estimate (“PS&E”), and Design Support During Construction (“DSDC”).
VTA reserves the right, in its discretion, to request the Contractor to provide the Additional Stages. There is no guarantee of an award of these Additional Stages. However, VTA will only request Additional Stages from the Contractor who has demonstrated satisfactory performance on the current or previous stages of the Project. To be considered for the award of Additional Stages, Proposers must have included a statement of interest in performing the Additional Stages and qualifications for such work in their proposal for this RFP S25191.
Evaluation of this qualification will be based on the Proposer’s and subcontractors’ qualifications and previous experience on similar and/or related expressway projects. The evaluation will be based on the strength of the information for three key similar or related expressway projects that the Proposer has completed in the past or has underway. The Proposer’s experience and involvement in the various stages of the three projects, from PVD (equivalent to Caltrans Project Initiation Document (PID)), PA/ED, PS&E, through DSDC, will be factored into the evaluation. Other factors to be considered for each of these three projects are: details on the project and its relevance as qualification for the proposed project, the total cost of the project, the percentage of work for which the Proposer was responsible, a comparison of the originally proposed duration of work by the Proposer compared to the actual completed or projected work duration by the Proposer, the originally proposed Proposer’s work budget compared to the actual completed or projected work budget to be considered, experience working with highway properties or other public agencies, strength and stability of the firm, and assessments by three client references.
Evaluation of this criterion will be based on the Project Manager’s (“PM’s”), and if applicable, the Deputy Project Manager’s (“DPM’s”) and other key staff’s relevant experience, including staff from subcontractors on similar or related expressway projects. The relevant experience includes experience in the past seven (7) years: (i) working with transportation agencies on projects that are similar and/or related to the project that is the subject of this RFP, (ii) conducting similar or related project development for expressway projects, and (iii) managing the development of complex expressway projects involving multiple agencies and stakeholders. The proposed PM/DPM should be able to demonstrate the ability to lead a multi-faceted team, manage a schedule, and budget in a dynamic environment and provide at least three references from experience in the past who could be contacted to respond to questions regarding ability to manage a multi-faceted team, complex schedules and defined budgets. VTA’s investigation of staff references may extend beyond those provided in the Proposal.
Evaluation of this criterion will be based on the presentation of a well-conceived work plan showing that the Proposer has a full grasp of the key technical issues to lead to project success through the Proposer’s allocation and use of staff resources to meet VTA’s objectives and work requirements for the Project. The proposal shall succinctly describe the proposed approach for addressing the required work in an effective yet realistic manner, outlining the activities that would be undertaken in completing the various tasks and specifying who would perform the tasks including highlighting and explaining the importance of certain tasks as critical tasks. The proposal shall include both a detailed schedule for completing the major subtasks specified in the Scope of Services a high-level schedule identifying the most critical tasks coinciding with the discussion on critical tasks, and a discussion on the overall proposed duration for completing the work with added information on how the duration could change as needed. Finally, evaluation of this criterion will also be through an assessment of percentages and hours allocated to the major subtasks by staff (including key staff from subcontractors) to reflect the Proposers’ overall understanding of the project requirements and proposed flow of work.
Evaluation of this criterion will be based on the presentation of the Project issues and critical items that need to be addressed during the development of the Project and discussion on key steps that will be taken to ensure optimizing of delivery effort. The proposal will provide: 1) solutions, strategies or recommendations for the identified Project issues and critical items, 2) a detailed discussion on the proposed stakeholder involvement, and 3) identification of potential pitfalls to the successful delivery of this Project and steps that will be taken to avoid the pitfalls including an identification of the potentially most impactful three pitfalls. This proposal will also show the relationship between the Project issues/critical items and the proposed work plan (staffing, tasks, and schedule) identified in the “Work Plan” criteria. The use of graphical aids, figures and tables to demonstrate the Proposer’s project understanding and proposed delivery efficiencies will factor in the scoring for this criterion. Any proposals that encompass ideas that were not in the provided feasibility study, should be discussed in this section in the Proposal
Five (5) points will be awarded if at least fifty percent (50%) of the dollar value of services to be rendered will be performed by a local firm registered to do business in Santa Clara County. An additional point will be awarded for each additional ten percent (10%) of the dollar value of services to be performed by a local firm, to a maximum point award of ten (10) points
Refer to Section IV. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT of the RFP for details on response requirements that are to be submitted in this response section, and upload your COMPLETE Proposal here. Upload cost proposal separately in the next step.
Submit the following forms as part of your Proposal:
FORM 1. GENERAL INFORMATION
FORM 2. LEVINE ACT STATEMENT
FORM 6. LOCAL FIRM CERTIFICATION
FORM 7. LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS CERTIFICATION
FORM 8. CERTIFICATE OF CONSULTANT
FORM 9. KEY STAFF AVAILABILITY
FORM 10. NON-COLLUSION DECLARATION BID FORM
FORM 11. RESOURCE PLAN (HOURS)
Proposers shall submit a Cost Proposal for the services requested in this RFP.
Submit the following forms:
FORM 3. COST PROPOSAL FORM
FORM 4. LISTING OF PRIME AND SUBCONTRACTORS
FORM 5.DESIGNATION OF SUBCONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS
FORM 12. RESOURCE PLAN (DOLLARS)
Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.
Each bid shall be accompanied by a certified cashier’s check, or bid bond, in the amount of 10% of the total bid price, payable toSanta Clara Valley Transportation Authority, as a guarantee that the bidder, if its bid is accepted, will promptly execute the Agreement. The bidder shall guarantee the total bid price for a period of 60 days from the date of the bid opening.
Please scan and upload a copy of your bid bond/cashier's check. Bidder must also MAIL bid guarantee with a postmarked date no later thanMonday, April 6, 2026 addressed to:
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Norman David
3331 North First St.
San Jose,CA95134
Please have the Bidder Name, Contract Title ("Lawrence Expressway Grade Separation"), and Contract Number ("S25191") listed clearly on the outside of the envelope.
The contract shall be executed by the successful bidder and shall be returned, together with the Payment Bond, Performance Bond and Certificate(s) of Insurance to Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority so that it is received within 14 working daysafter the bidder has received the contract for execution. Failure to do so shall be just cause for forfeiture of the proposal guaranty.
Please type your SB/DVBE Certification ID. This will be verified by the Cal eProcure Website
Please enter your License Number here. This will be verified against the state database
Please enter your Public Works Contractor Registration Number. This will be verified against the state database.
State your Company's Name Here. This will be verified against the California Secretary of State's Website.
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Will this solicitation require a bid bond?
If not using the Electronic Pricing Table, do you want your bidder to separate a Price Proposal from the rest of the Response?
Would you like to define the Evaluation Criteria for this solicitation?
Q (Project Type): Please clarify if this is a Design Services/Engineering Proposal for PS&E or a Construction Contract Proposal? The title is misleading as a Construction Proposal or Bid.
A: The Services under this RFP are of interest to VTA to complete Project Validation Document (“PVD”) phase for the Lawrence Expressway Grade Separation project.
Q (Project Schedule):
A: What is the anticipated schedule for bidding and construction of this project? Please refer to Appendix B for project schedule.
Q (No subject): Form 3 – Cost Proposal Form (excel spreadsheet) has columns for Year 1 and Year 2 rates. When including the hourly rate for Year 1, we noticed that Year 2 does not auto-calculate with the escalation allowed per the contract. Would VTA provide an unlocked version of the form so we may incorporate escalation for Year 2?
A: Contractors are not allowed to use escalated rates or contingency for rate increases in the proposal or contract. They have to request rate adjustments no sooner than every 12 months after contract is awarded.
Q (No subject): In the Project Staffing section, this information “Proposer project team members must be identified by name, location, specific responsibilities on the project and the estimated person-hours of participation” is also included on Form 9. Do we need to submit the information in both places (the Project Staffing section and also on Form 9)?
A: Yes.
Q (No subject): Can we re-create Form 9? The columns aren’t wide enough to enter the required text for Company Name, Role, and Current Projects.
A: Yes.
Q (No subject): Do we need to include subconsultants in our proposal for the PA/ED and PS&E phases as well, or just for the PVD phase?
A: No, subconsultants don’t need to be listed for future phases of PA&ED and PS&E.
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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