Request for Qualifications (RFQ) NEPA and Phase 1 Engineering Design Services for IA 44 / 1st Street Reconstruction

Description: Project Overview The City of Grimes, Iowa (City) is seeking proposals from qualified professional engineering and consulting firms to provide environmental review/NEPA, associated corridor-wide preliminary engineering, public involvement, agency coordination, and engineering design services for Phase 1 of the IA 44 / 1st Street Reconstruction Project from Gateway Drive to 0.25 West of DCG High School. The RFQ is intentionally limited to (1) advancing the overall corridor through the required environmental process and (2) completing the engineering services necessary to advance the first construction phase. Design of later construction phases and construction administration/inspection are not included in this RFQ. However, the City holds the right to extend the scope for future phases connected to the IA 44/ 1st Street Reconstruction to the selected firm without issuing a separate RFQ for those phases. IA 44 is a primary east-west transportation corridor through Grimes and is part of the Iowa primary highway system. The project corridor is approximately four miles long and includes a mix of urban, partially developed boulevard, and rural roadway sections. The project is expected to be delivered through multiple phases and will require close coordination among the City, Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), FHWA as applicable, adjacent property owners, businesses, residents, Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District, utility providers, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders. Selection Method The City intends to use a qualifications-based selection (QBS) process consistent with the principles of the APWA Red Book on Qualifications-Based Selection and applicable state and federal requirements. Cost will not be used to rank firms during the qualifications phase. The City is seeking a consultant team capable of integrating environmental review, preliminary engineering, traffic and safety analysis, utilities, right-of-way impact definition, public involvement, Iowa DOT/FHWA coordination, and Phase 1 final design. The selected consultant must maintain a clear distinction between corridor-wide work needed to support NEPA and the design effort that is specific to Phase 1. Project Objectives • Advance the corridor through required environmental review and project development processes while preserving defensible alternatives analysis and documentation. • Develop a practical, constructible roadway concept that improves capacity, safety, access management, multimodal connectivity, and long-term operations. • Coordinate closely with Iowa DOT and other reviewing agencies to achieve timely decisions and approvals. • Minimize and appropriately document right-of-way, property, utility, environmental, and community impacts. • Confirm the overall corridor phasing needed for environmental documentation and develop a detailed implementation strategy for Phase 1 that aligns design, right-of-way availability, utilities, funding, and construction sequencing. • Maintain reliable corridor-level cost information for environmental decision-making and detailed cost estimates and schedules for Phase 1. • Provide clear, consistent, and accessible communication with residents, businesses, corridor property owners, and the broader community. Anticipated Consultant Role The selected consultant is anticipated to support the City through environmental review/NEPA for the full Gateway Drive-to-0.25 West of DCG High School corridor and through preliminary and final engineering for Phase 1. Bidding support for Phase 1 may be included in the negotiated scope. Pre-project roadway improvements, final design of later construction phases, construction administration, and construction inspection are outside the intended base scope. However, the City holds the right to extend the scope for future phases connected to the IA 44/ 1st Street Reconstruction to the selected firm without issuing a separate RFQ for those phases. Agency and Project Background Agency Overview The City of Grimes is a rapidly growing community in the Des Moines metropolitan area. Continued residential, commercial, institutional, and regional growth has increased travel demand on IA 44 / 1st Street. The corridor is a critical connection for local travel, regional through traffic, school access, businesses, neighborhoods, and connections to IA 141. Project History and Prior Studies The City and Iowa DOT have completed multiple planning and concept development efforts to define long-term improvements for the corridor. The 2023 State Highway 44 Corridor Study evaluated existing conditions, future traffic demands, and long-term improvement needs. Subsequent concept development evaluated alignment, intersection configurations, right-of-way impacts, utilities, constructability, cost, and schedule in greater detail. The April 4, 2025 Project Concept Design Criteria memorandum documents four alignment alternatives and recommends a hybrid alignment that shifts portions of the roadway north while using or generally following the existing alignment in other areas. The recommendation was based on balancing property impacts, construction staging, utility installation, project cost, and construction duration. Current Conceptual Roadway The current corridor concept generally reconstructs 1st Street as a divided four-lane urban roadway. Concept design criteria include a 35-mph design speed, approximately 120 feet of proposed right-of-way, a raised median, a 5-foot sidewalk on the south side, a 10-foot shared-use trail on the north side, and reconstruction of municipal utilities. These are concept-level criteria that remain subject to environmental review, alternatives evaluation, Iowa DOT coordination, and design refinement. Project Limits Gateway Drive to 0.25 West of DCG High School - approximately 3 miles Current Concept Divided four-lane roadway with raised median Concept Design Speed 35 mph Concept ROW Approximately 120 feet, subject to environmental and design refinement South Side Facility 5-foot sidewalk under the concept criteria North Side Facility 10-foot shared-use trail under the concept criteria Primary Utility Concept Storm and sanitary sewer generally north; water main generally south RFQ NEPA Limits Gateway Drive to 0.25 West of DCG High School - full corridor Phase 1 Design Limits 0.25 Miles West of DCG Entrance to 0.25 miles East of Countyline Road Major Intersections Previous concept work evaluated traffic signal and roundabout configurations at major intersections. The April 2025 intersection configuration memorandum concluded that both control types could provide acceptable long-term operations under the scenarios studied and recommended advancing roundabouts at primary intersections based on safety, traffic-calming, access-management, and operational considerations. The selected consultant shall independently review and refine these recommendations through the environmental and design process. RFQ Work Area Intended Consultant Scope Corridor-Wide NEPA / Environmental Review: Gateway Drive to 0.25 West of DCG High School, including preliminary engineering and technical studies necessary to support environmental decision-making and clearance. Phase 1 Engineering: Preliminary/final design and associated technical services for Phase 1. Outside Base Scope: Final design of later phases; construction administration; construction inspection; and other work not specifically necessary for NEPA or Phase 1 design. Procurement and Selection Philosophy Qualifications-Based Selection: The City will select the consultant based on demonstrated qualifications rather than lowest price. The selection process is intended to reflect the APWA Red Book QBS framework: define the need and scope, solicit qualifications, evaluate and shortlist the most qualified firms, establish a final ranking, and negotiate a detailed scope, schedule, and compensation with the highest-ranked firm. Consultants shall not submit a fee, hourly rate schedule, multiplier, or other compensation information with the proposal. Any proposal containing cost information may be considered non-responsive if the City determines that the information could affect the integrity of the QBS process. Submission Requirements and Key Dates RFQ No.: 1.10.26 Issue Date: October 27, 2026 Questions Due: November 6, 2026 Proposal Deadline: November 20, 2026 Detailed Scope of Services, Deliverables, Evaluation Criteria, and General Information are provided in the RFQ. Major deliverables include environmental documentation, corridor-level and Phase 1 design deliverables, public involvement materials, cost opinions, schedules, and Phase 1 bidding documents if included in the negotiated scope. The RFQ describes required experience, proposal format and page limits, prohibited cost information, evaluation scoring, negotiation procedures, and general procurement provisions including City rights, public records, conflicts of interest, EEO/DBE requirements, and that selection does not constitute a contract award.