Local Public Agency Consultant Procurement

Local Public Agency Consultant Procurement

In accordance with The FHWA and ADOT Stewardship and Oversight Agreement for Arizona dated April 9, 2015, referred to as the Stewardship Agreement, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) may delegate to the Local Public Agencies (LPAs) the authority to self-administer (SA) projects or administer a project under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Certification Acceptance (CA) Program. The Local Public Agency Section serves ADOT to support the Federal-Aid Highway Program in Arizona (visit the LPA Section webpage).

On behalf of the Arizona Department of Transportation, ADOT Engineering Consultant Section (ECS) reviews and approves an LPA’s professional architectural and/or engineering (A/E) procurement process to ensure that A/E services are procured on the basis of the firms’ demonstrated competence and qualifications for the type of professional A/E services required and at fair and reasonable prices in compliance with the Brooks Act, 40 U.S.C, Chapter 11, Section 1101-1104 (referred to as the “Brooks Act”). Furthermore, Title 23 U.S.C., Section 112(b)(2)(A) requires the Brooks Act procedures to be used for each contract for program management, construction management, feasibility studies, preliminary engineering, design, engineering, surveying, mapping, or architectural related services with respect to a construction project performed or supervised by ADOT.

A/E design contracts/projects, which are not utilizing Federal-aid funds, do not fall under these requirements even if the State will utilize Federal-aid funds for the construction phase.

There are three acceptable A/E procurement administration options in which the LPA’s A/E projects may qualify for federal funding, if the LPA is requesting the use of federal-aid funds for the design phase.

  1. ADOT-Administered (AA) Project – if selected, this option offers the LPAs a pool of ADOT-approved A/E On-Call contracts with A/E firms that have been selected according to FHWA-approved A/E procurement process. ADOT will administer and manage the contracts from advertising, consultant selection, negotiation, contract execution, processing payment reports and contract modifications, audits, DBE compliance (e.g., reporting and monitoring) through contract closeout.

  2. Self-Administered (SA) Project – is an option where the LPAs are not ADOT Certification Acceptance (CA)-certified as an entity to procure professional A/E services. Instead, LPAs request ADOT’s approval for each of the LPA’s (design) project to procure/solicit A/E firms using an ADOT-approved process. Refer to the ADOT LPA Projects Manual (January 11, 2013), Chapter 3 for more information.

    LPAs desiring to apply for self-administration of a Federal-aid funded project must go through an application process by contacting Said Asad, ADOT LPA Construction Compliance Engineer, [email protected](link sends e-mail) or 602.712.8444 for the Self-Administration Consideration Request Form.

  3. Certification Acceptance (CA) Program – is an option where an LPA, as an entity, may be approved programmatically if the LPA’s procurement authority’s written processes to develop and administer A/E contracts/projects are in accordance with all applicable agency, state, and federal requirements. ADOT evaluates the LPA’s written processes to ensure compliance with all applicable local, federal, and state A/E procurement requirements. Under this option, the LPAs are certified for three years and require recertification thereafter. Refer to the ADOT LPA Projects Manual (January 11, 2013), Chapter 4 for more information.