Page 1 Advertisement No.: 15831 DOT FM Number: 437301-1-32-01 Project Name: All Electronic Tolling (AET) Design Services Consultant s Name: The Heimburg Group, Inc. Street Address: 5461 W Waters Avenue, Suite 910 City: Tampa State: FL Zip: 33634 Office Location: Tampa Contact person: Stephan Heimburg, PE Phone: 813.514.4505 Contact email: contact@heimburggroup.com By submittal of this letter the Consultant certifies that all information provided in the letter is true and accurate. The Consultant further affirms that staff proposed are currently employed by the firm(s) identified, or the Consultant has provided a statement of when staff will become employed by the identified firm(s). Please provide the following information: Proposed approach and understanding of critical issues. Relevant project experience Similar type of work experience. Other content provided by firm. Proposed key personnel and their proposed roles (do not include resumes). Consultants: Please be aware that all font (including in graphics, tables, and captions on photos) must be standard Arial Narrow, 11 point, single line spacing with no modification of font or spacing allowed. ½ clear margin on all sides must be maintained on all pages. It is the Consultant s responsibility, due to font and format restrictions within this form, to work within the constraints of the form and its format. Character styling such as use of color, bold, and italics is allowed. Use of a table is recommended for text boxes. The page layout may be modified to add columns, tables, graphics, and photos. All graphics and photos must be created in a clean, blank word document and the text wrapping square option applied before cutting and pasting into this form. Consultants may add their logo at the top of the first page (directly underneath the header), however, the Consultant shall not extend the form beyond the pages allocated for the Letter to accommodate insertion of the logo. Consultants are not permitted to insert any other information in the header other than the logo. After pasting your letter into this form, highlight all text and ensure the font size of Arial Narrow, 11 point was retained. Once your content is inserted, delete any additional blank pages that are generated by pressing your delete key after the last word in the Letter of Response. Recreation of the form in another software application to modify the form format is not permitted. This form works best when saved with a.docx extension. *Please retain the source document as it may be requested at a later date in the procurement, to verify adherence with aforementioned restrictions. Note: You may begin typing on this page. PROJECT AWARENESS For over 20 years, the FTE has been at the forefront of the evolution to AET. It began with the development of the SunPass system and implementation of low speed, dedicated lanes under SunPass Challenge (SPC). The evolution continued with: Open Road Tolling (ORT) with expansion and capacity projects, SunPass Only interchanges, Expedited design speed tolling, at selected mainline toll plazas, while maintaining cash collection under ORT Lite, and AET conversion with Toll-by-Plate at the most utilized corridors in South Florida and Tampa. The goal of the AET contract is the expedited, economical AET conversion of the remaining mixed-use toll sites operated and owned by FTE. The scope includes existing conditions analysis, conceptual design, and final design. Through our discussions with the Technical Review Committee and our vast experience, we understand the design must address the following objectives: The Safety of Patrons and Tolls staff with a consistent and criteria based design, and a common sense approach. Protection of Revenue through a robust, maintainable infrastructure, and a design that eliminates potential toll evasion. A constructible design that addresses TCP, toll collection, driver inconvenience and reduces construction schedule. Adherence to stakeholder requirements and constraints, such as Toll Operations and critical utilities including FGT. Comparing Best Value Options, based on benefits, costs (infrastructure & equipment), safety, and operations. Development of an implementation plan that addresses the objectives for a plaza, project, corridor and system-wide basis. Congestion-free traffic operations, through analysis of signalization, weaving and merging conditions, as the toll impedance is removed from the system. Expedited customer driven delivery of designs and plans, like the SPC and ORT Lite Programs.
Page 2 PROJECT TEAM AND EXPERIENCE Achieving these objectives will require an understanding that each site has unique geometric, toll, and traffic conditions. It will also require the collaborative efforts of the design team and all FTE internal stakeholders, including Planning, Design, Traffic & Toll Operations and Construction. The range of challenges mandates innovation, experience and knowledge in concept development and final design to achieve success. THG s Team is proud to have provided unique concepts and final designs that meet operational, design and tolling requirements for the FTE. Our collective experience and our reputation for developing innovative solutions makes us uniquely qualified for these assignments. THG selected Team members based on project needs, as well as shared values of accountability, quality, on-time delivery and reputation for superior service to the FTE. The Team will be led by Stephan Heimburg, PE, who has led numerous multidiscipline projects, with an eye toward the big picture and attention to details. Key subconsultants are Bentley Architects (Bentley) for architecture and Kimley-Horn & Associates for support disciplines and final design, as needed. The depth of our recent toll experience includes: THG provided concepts for AET 5A, 6B & 6C, TCP for AET 5B & 6B, and final site designs for AET 6C. Wantman Group is certified to perform SUE on FGT facilities, eliminating the need for FGT supervision. Bentley has designed and obtained building and State Fire Marshal permits for numerous FTE facilities. PROJECT APPROACH MANAGEMENT APPROACH: Our approach is based on coordination, planning, and quality. Coordination: We recommend regularly scheduled coordination meetings with the two teams selected and the FTE stakeholders to ensure consistency in methodology and concurrence with the potential alternatives. This approach will allow the FTE to fairly evaluate options and prioritize improvements. This effort also includes supporting PIO inquiries from stakeholders with meetings, graphics and narratives. Planning: This task driven contract provides flexibility for the range of activities. It also provides the opportunity to adjust approaches as decisions are made based on data collection and analysis. Corridor segments, as identified in the scope, should be assigned to a specific team. This approach aids creation of an implementation plan on small and large scales, as well as construction packaging. Tasks may include: Task 1: Existing Conditions This task includes data collection, review and analysis of record drawings, inventories of toll lane type, traffic data, and programmed improvements. The AET 8 Concept Report for the ticket system will facilitate the effort for this segment. Deliverable documents include an ERCAR, lane line concepts, evaluation of buildings to be repurposed and if needed, a traffic analysis. Task 2: Concept Development This task includes the application of toll and traffic operations concepts to individual sites, similar to the approach we used on the AET 5A Concept Memoranda. Concepts will be developed to ensure constructability, as well as continued traffic and toll operations. Viable concepts will be evaluated based on infrastructure and equipment costs, design deviations required, acceptable toll operations and compatibility with future plans. For example, AET deployment on the eastern mainline site of the Polk Parkway could include considering future widening from two to four lanes. Task 3: Final Design This task includes field surveys and geotechnical work. It relies on a multidiscipline team and comprehensive completion of Task 2 to efficiently complete design. Our Team is built for consistency of staffing, as sites evolve from concepts to design, minimizing coordination. Quality: THG is responsible to FTE for quality delivery of all deliverables. Team members are responsible to THG for the quality of their deliverables. Each discipline will have a designated QC reviewer. As Principal, Lisa Heimburg, PE will be responsible for Quality Assurance. Key tenets of our QA/QC Plan include: 1) A project specific QC Plan that outlines procedures (including the 5-step process), responsibilities and schedule, 2) Review of Lessons Learned on previous projects, 3) Senior staff with discipline specific and toll experience, 4) Maintaining production schedules so that there is sufficient time for pre-delivery QC and implementation of necessary changes, and 5) QA of subconsultant deliverables. TECHNICAL APPROACH: We have formed the following strategies as part of our approach: Design Standards: Concepts will conform to AASHTO, FDOT, and TPPPH criteria & processes, including the General Tolling Requirements (GTR). When these requirements conflict, innovation is required. Our design will meet the intent (safety, operations, tolling) of the requirements. Our approach emphasizes: Avoidance of design exceptions, but consideration of variations with the reuse of existing infrastructure. Full design speed improvements and ORT equipment for conversion of mainline sites. Consultation with the Tolls Office on possible refinement of requirements for unique site conditions. KEY PROJECTS THG THG Staff KHA BAE AET 1-3 AET 5A AET 5B AET 6A/B/C SPC ORT Lite KEY STAFF Project Manager (THG) Stephan Heimburg, PE Roadway/TCP (THG) J. Webb Jones III, PE Robb Hideck, PE Lindsey Skourellos, PE Gerald Sudimick, PE Traffic Anal. (THG/KHA) Patricia Sikowski, AICP Ian Rairden, PE S&PM(THG) J. Webb Jones III, PE Signals(KHA) Ron Hildebrand, PE Drainage (THG) John Westgate, PE Permitting (KHA) Lynn Kiefer Structures (KHA) Jamea Long, PE Landscape (KHA) Bill Waddill, RLA ITS (KHA) Sam Trotman, PE Lighting (KHA) Matthew Fursetzer, PE Utility Coord. (WGI) Kristen Youcis, PE Survey (WGI) Sam Hall, PSM Joe Shatto, PSM SUE (WGI) Erik Brueningsen, PE Tolling (BAE/SWC) Gary Kranston, AIA Molly devivero, PE Brian Mullin, PE Malcolm Watkins, PE Geotechnical (TI) Jeremy Sewell, PE
Page 3 Interchange Operations: AET operations will unmeter traffic that can impact interchange traffic operations. We will identify low cost improvements, including the addition of turn lanes and signal timing modifications. A diamond ramp could be considered for trumpet interchanges (like the Hollywood Blvd. interchange) to reduce left turn volumes but would add cost to the project. This approach extends the life of the interchange without constructing cross street improvements. Overhead destination signing on cross street turn lanes will minimize weaving at trumpet entrance ramps. Toll Alternatives: We understand that most toll plazas within the project limits have newer toll equipment with Toll-by-Plate capabilities for both dedicated and ORT lanes. This condition allows for consideration of a variety of AET design options: Full AET: Reconstruction of toll infrastructure and approaches to meet higher design speeds, mostly applicable to mainline sites. AET Lite: Use of dedicated lanes with closure of cash lanes and signing modifications, applicable to low speed ramps, based on the limited benefit of a higher ramp design speed near a signal. AET Hybrid: Reconfiguration of existing infrastructure elements (canopy, building, pavement) for AET. This approach was used for the clear span canopy at HEFT/SW 8 th St. toll site. The full AET and AET Lite alternatives represent extremes in cost and operation. Hybrid concepts will be developed to provide a higher design speed than AET Lite, an interim mainline condition or other needs. Like the ORT Lite program, Hybrid and Lite concepts may require design variations for a limited design life. Toll Siting: The GTR outlines primary considerations, including geometry, availability of utilities and access. Full AET ramp options will be the most challenging to design, based on geometric limitations and the need to maintain tolls. For full AET mainline sites, consistent siting of the Toll Equipment Building on one side of the route is preferred. Some toll plazas on the northern coin system have off-site access due to remote locations. During Task 2, we will review the disposition of these access roads. TCP/Constructability/Implementation: These interrelated issues must be addressed during Task 2, due to impacts to siting and configuration. Our strategy to address these issues includes: Construction packaging and implementation by segment will eliminate the need for coordination of contractor schedules. Construction documents will provide testing requirements. Phasing within segments: Construction of mainline AET sites for plazas without ORT lanes; a soft AET conversion with closure of all cash lanes; followed by completion of all AET sites. o Soft conversion is supported by existing toll equipment and will facilitate operations by providing consistent toll collection. o Soft conversion will aid TCP by reducing the number of lanes to be maintained. Without a soft conversion, there will be more TCP phases and extended construction duration. Ramp closures are not desirable for the Orlando area, based on potential concurrent I-4 construction and tourist traffic; or the Turnpike beyond Orlando, based on extended detour lengths. We will also look for opportunities to use the Mobile Emergency Gantry, previously developed by Bentley, for temporary tolling. OTHER ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES Implementation: Segment interfaces with mixed-use toll routes are unique areas, requiring the following considerations: Public notice and toll operations will be simplified with segment packaging and a complete soft conversion of a segment. Signing for last chance exits must be included beyond the limits of each converted segment for cash customers. The schedule of AET conversion on the Turnpike may impact configurations at segment interfaces, if there is schedule lag: o Three Lakes Plaza could have an ORT Lite configuration with the initial conversion of the northern coin or ticket segment. o Lantana Plaza must maintain cash collection until both AET 5A (I-595 to Lantana) and ticket segments are converted. Interfaces with Orlando toll routes (SR 429, SR 417, and SR 528) have unique considerations, if CFX maintains cash tolls: o CFX has both cash and ORT lanes. Sporadic cash collection may lead to driver confusion, requiring more signing for AET. o The SR 417 Celebration site will be the only mainline non- ORT site in Orlando. FTE may elect to provide an interim ORT Lite configuration (with cash tolls), in advance of AET. Consistency in Toll Collection: We understand the current FTE approach of maintaining the current toll system to avoid shifting of toll burden between users. However, the ticket system is a legacy toll system that could be changed to a barrier system, with minimal toll changes to maintain consistency along the Turnpike. AET conversion provides an opportunity to change seamlessly. Starnet Gantries: This legacy toll infrastructure is subject to fatigue cracking. AET conversion provides the opportunity to replace these structures, as needed. Express Lanes: FTE is implementing Express Lanes on selected routes. The Team will review opportunities for consolidating express tolling and AET sites, such as the Beachline West. We are utilizing a similar approach at the HEFT/Kendall interchange. Toll Leaks: AET conversion also provides the opportunity to close access to the system without paying tolls by adding toll sites at locations, such as the Turnpike/US 301 ramps to/from the north. Environmental Permitting: Siting will be developed to minimize environmental impacts. In addition, AET will result in a reduction in pavement, which must be documented in the permit modification so that pond volumes are available for future improvements. FGT and AT&T: These stakeholders require considerations based on established agreements. The Team is well versed in their requirements, having provided unique solutions for the development of both ramp and mainline concepts for AET 5A. Commitment: Quality staff is not relevant without staff availability. THG commits to providing the project staff for the AET Contract project for planning, design and post-design phases. Close: At THG, we are proud that this Team has the experience, innovation, knowledge and enthusiasm for this project and we look forward to demonstrating these qualities to FTE. We thank you for your consideration and look forward to your favorable review. The Heimburg Group, Inc. Stephan Heimburg, PE, Project Manager
Page 4 Prequalification of Prime Consultant and any proposed Subconsultants by advertised type(s) of work: Project Advertised Major & Minor Work Types Consultant Name 3.3 4.1.1 6.3.1 6.3.2 6.3.3 7.1 7.2 7.3 8.1 8.2 DBE SB UU Prime The Heimburg Group, Inc. (THG) Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. (KHA) Bentley Architects & Engineers, Inc. (BAE) Wantman Group, Inc. (WGI) Tierra, Inc. (TI) Sims Wilkerson Cartier Engineering, Inc. (SWC) Subconsultants SB = Small Business UU = Under-utilized work type; subconsultant is fulfilling an under-utilized work type My firm has submitted a Bid Opportunity List through the Equal Opportunity Compliance System for this project.
Page 5 Prequalification of Prime Consultant and any proposed Subconsultants by advertised type(s) of work: Project Advertised Major & Minor Work Types Consultant Name 8.4 9.1 9.2 9.4.1 14.0 DBE SB UU Prime The Heimburg Group, Inc. (THG) Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. (KHA) Bentley Architects & Engineers, Inc. (BAE) Wantman Group, Inc. (WGI) Tierra, Inc. (TI) Sims Wilkerson Cartier Engineering, Inc. (SWC) Subconsultants SB = Small Business UU = Under-utilized work type; subconsultant is fulfilling an under-utilized work type My firm has submitted a Bid Opportunity List through the Equal Opportunity Compliance System for this project.