SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Pilot Testing of SHRP 2 Reliability Data and Analytical Products
- Notice Date
- 9/11/2012
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- The National Academies, Transportation Research Board, SHRP2, 500 Fifth Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20001
- Solicitation Number
- SHRP2_L38
- Archive Date
- 11/7/2012
- Point of Contact
- Stephen Andrle, Phone: 202-334-2810, Linda Mason, Phone: 202-334-3241
- E-Mail Address
-
sandrle@nas.edu, lmason@nas.edu
(sandrle@nas.edu, lmason@nas.edu)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SHRP 2 Request for Proposals Focus Area: Reliability Project Number: L38 Project Title: Pilot Testing of SHRP 2 Reliability Data and Analytical Products Date Posted: September 11, 2012 Proposal Due Date: October 23, 2012 SHRP 2 Background To address the challenges of moving people and goods efficiently and safely on the nation's highways, Congress has created the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2). SHRP 2 is a targeted, short-term research program carried out through competitively awarded contracts to qualified researchers in the academic, private, and public sectors. SHRP 2 addresses four strategic focus areas: the role of human behavior in highway safety (Safety); rapid highway renewal (Renewal); improved travel time reliability through congestion reduction (Reliability); and transportation planning that better integrates community, economic, and environmental considerations into new highway capacity (Capacity). Under current legislative provisions, SHRP 2 will receive approximately $150 million with total program duration of 7 years. Additional information about SHRP 2 can be found on the program's Web site at www.trb.org/shrp2. Reliability Focus Area The major objective of SHRP 2 Reliability research is to greatly improve the reliability of highway travel times by reducing the frequency and effects of events that cause travel times to fluctuate in an unpredictable manner. The results of the research program should help local, state, and national agencies reduce travel time variability for travelers and shippers. The Reliability research plan addresses both recurring and nonrecurring congestion with an emphasis on nonrecurring congestion. The following seven potential sources of unreliable travel times (i.e., events that cause variable travel times) were identified: -traffic incidents -work zones -demand fluctuations -special events -traffic control devices -weather -and inadequate base capacity The Reliability focus area targets travel time variation-that frustrating characteristic of the transportation system that means you must allow an hour to make a trip that normally takes 30 minutes. Not only is reliability an important component for travelers and shippers, it is also an aspect of the congestion problem in which transportation agencies can make significant gains even as travel demand grows. The seven sources of unreliability account for approximately half of the total delay. Reducing reliability-related delay will also result in fewer crashes, reduced vehicle emissions and fuel use, and other benefits. These benefits can be realized through a mix of leading-edge research into a better understanding of strategies and their consequences, new technology and practices, and reducing institutional barriers so that our existing knowledge can be more fully exploited. The goals of the Reliability focus area are built around the first five of the seven sources mentioned above. Work on weather-related issues will be coordinated with the Road Weather Management R&D program under way at the Federal Highway Administration. Related research on inadequate base capacity being undertaken in the SHRP 2 Capacity focus area and elsewhere will be closely coordinated by SHRP 2 staff. Description of the Challenge Road authorities at all government levels are hearing from the general public and business community of their frustration with increasing travel delays and the resulting late arrivals. The economy depends on just-in-time delivery of materials and products to operate efficiently. Travelers and freight shippers are less tolerant of delay and are demanding that system performance be addressed, and improved, to achieve regular on-time arrival of people and goods at their destinations. Information technology is driving expectations. Information on road conditions and shipments are available 24/7, raising the bar for operating agencies. Both the private and public sectors expect that the productivity gains made possible by the information revolution will be matched by greater productivity in the usage of the roadway network. These expectations lead to demands for greater accountability by the network operators. Pressures on roadway performance come at a time when it is difficult to expand capacity by adding lanes or new routes. Financial and environmental constraints make it very difficult to replicate the expansion of road capacity that occurred in the last century. In lean times, DOTs and road operating agencies must get the most out of the existing infrastructure; this often means operational improvements that apply information technologies. Finally, Congress recently enacted the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) which provides funding for surface transportation programs and, more importantly, transforms the policy and programmatic framework for transportation infrastructure investments. MAP-21 establishes a performance and outcome based investment program in which states will invest resources in individual projects that collectively will make progress towards national goals. One of the performance targets is system reliability, which aims to improve the efficiency of the surface transportation system. This reliability goal is closely linked with the goals congestion reduction, improved freight movement, and economic vitality. Considering the increasing expectations by road users for reliable system performance and federal regulatory requirements for investments to result in improved system performance, road authorities need to increase their organizational, technical, and decision-making capabilities to be responsive to these expectations. The SHRP 2 Reliability products are intended to advance these needed capabilities and effective piloting of the products is critical for maturing them for introduction to professional practice. Project Objectives 1. Assist agencies in moving reliability into their business practices through testing of data integration and analytical tools developed by SHRP 2. Proposals are encouraged to include a data collection/ integration component, an analytical component, and a decision-making component. 2. Provide feedback to SHRP 2 on the applicability and usefulness (benefits and value) of the products tested. Suggest potential refinements. Project Background The SHRP 2 Reliability program is nearing completion of five analytical products that can aid in diagnosing the nature of reliability problems, identifying possible corrective actions, and analyzing the probable effect on travel time reliability of implementing those actions. The SHRP 2 projects involved are: L02: Establishing Monitoring Programs for Travel Time Reliability L05: Incorporating Reliability Performance Measures into the Transportation Planning and Programming Process L07: Evaluation of Costs and Effectiveness of Highway Design Features to Improve Travel Time Reliability L08: Incorporation of Nonrecurrent Congestion Factors into Highway Capacity Manual Methods C11: Development of Improved Economic Analysis Tools The results of project L03, Analytic Procedures for Determining the Impacts of Reliability Mitigation Strategies, will not be tested directly, but the results of that research provide the basis for some of the tools described below. The results of project L04, Incorporating Reliability Performance measures in Planning and Operations Modeling, are not included in this procurement. That product will be tested separately. These tools included in the L38 procurement may be thought of as a progression. Project L02 describes methods to integrate the various types of data that provide the basis for analyzing the causes of unreliable travel patterns and determining possible solutions. Projects L07, L08, and C11 produced analytical tools for estimating the likely impact on reliability of alternative mitigating strategies. Project L05 provides a guidebook for using the results of the analyses in generating support for funding of operation improvements to improve reliability. A short description of the products available for testing follows. More information on each product can be found on the TRB SHRP 2 website at http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Pages/RFP_L38_Resources_and_Reference_Material_628.aspx L02: The project team conducted five case studies of sites with various data collection technologies to develop methods for assembling and visualizing travel time reliability information. This work builds on data generated by current traffic monitoring systems to provide a long-term picture of travel time reliability. L02 provides a guidebook for measuring reliability, understanding what makes a system unreliable, and how to pinpoint mitigating actions. It provides guidelines for measuring, characterizing, identifying, and understanding the causes of unreliability, which helps to identify possible mitigating actions. L02 provides a diversity of tools at various levels of complexity and differing operational environments. The components of L02 can be tested holistically or elements may be tested separately, depending on the baseline capabilities of an agency. Proposers should review the draft L02 Guidebook (available on the L38 Resources page) and propose an approach that enhances their capabilities and tests the products. L07: The effect on freeway travel time reliability (during peak periods) of physical design treatments can be tested using a guidebook and a sketch planning-level spreadsheet that graphs changes in travel time reliability measures in response to alternative design treatments. It makes use of the procedures developed in the L03 research. It also produces a life-cycle benefit/cost analysis of treatments with different life cycles and cost magnitude. Local data is required, such as, hourly traffic volumes, number of lanes, shoulder width, crash history, special events, work zones, and climate data. Enhancements to the spreadsheet tool are expected by December 2012. These include off-peak periods, snow and ice effects, and multihour freeway incidents. These features may be available for testing early in 2013. L08: Project L08 developed procedures to include travel time reliability and non-recurring congestion factors into Highway Capacity Methods. Reliability has been added to "Freeval," a spreadsheet tool that uses a scenario generator to evaluate the change in travel time reliability performance measures associated with variation in freeway traffic, roadway, weather, and incident characteristics. "Streetval" is a new spreadsheet tool with a scenario generator that evaluates the change in travel time reliability on signalized roadways. Both models may be run with default values or with locally-generated inputs. C11: Project C11 provides a sketch planning corridor spreadsheet tool based on L03 research that estimates the benefits of improving travel time reliability for use in benefit/ cost analysis. Local travel time reliability data are not required because reliability measures are embedded in the L03 work. Agencies will typically have the required inputs, e.g., traffic volumes, roadway capacity, ADT, percent trucks, number of lanes, growth rate. L05: This product provides a guidebook with five steps for incorporating reliability into planning and programming. The primary audience is managers and decision makers. It also includes a technical reference for practitioners that describes the tools and data needed (recipes) to calculate performance measures. Proposal Content Description of the proposed research plan SHRP 2 is seeking proposals from teams consisting of public agencies either alone or in combinations with universities or consulting firms to test the analytical products developed by SHRP 2 Reliability. Demonstration of commitment to developing business and decision-making processes that take travel time reliability into account is essential to a successful proposal. Proposals may be submitted by a public agency or by another partner, but strong public agency commitment is required. Responding to this RFP may require a cooperative effort by various groups in an organization, such as traffic operations, planning, and design. Contractors involved in the development of the listed products are not eligible to participate in the L38 procurement but they will be available to provide technical assistance after contracts are awarded. Following the guidance in Manual for Conducting Research and Preparing Proposals for SHRP 2 (See General Note 4) prepare a Research Plan that consists of an Introduction, a Research Approach (tasks), Anticipated Research Results, and Applicability of Results to SHRP 2 Objectives. In the Introduction, proposers should describe how they would use one or more of these products and describe why they are appropriate for the proposed application. Preference will be given to proposals that use two or more products. Successful proposers will show how the products can be integrated into an agency's business processes to improve its capability to analyze and improve travel time reliability on one or more facilities or corridors, or on a system. They will also report on the validity and usability of the products. Products can be applied to analyze proposed solutions or can be used to look back at solutions that were implemented to see if reliability benefits were achieved (travel time variability was reduced) but not previously measured. The estimates from the tools could be compared to the observed results. In the Research Approach describe in a series of tasks how you will carry out the research. The research plan must describe in more detail than the introduction the baseline conditions and detailed methods for collecting and compiling data, conducting analysis, applying results to the planning process, and evaluating the SHRP 2 products. Tasks Task descriptions are intended to provide a framework for conducting the research. SHRP 2 is seeking the creativity and insights of proposers on how best to achieve the research objectives for this project. Proposers are expected to describe research plans that can realistically be accomplished within the constraints of available funds and contract time. Proposals must present the proposers' current thinking in sufficient detail to demonstrate their understanding of the issues and the soundness of their approach to meeting the research objectives. Proposers should clearly describe how they will accomplish each task. The following tasks provide guidance for structuring your proposal. Those indicated as required must be completed. The topics in the suggested tasks should be covered but proposers are free to propose a task structure adapted to the products to be tested and local circumstances. Task 1. Attend a one-day briefing in Washington, D.C., with representatives of the other pilot sites and the research contractors to refine understanding of the SHRP 2 products and establish a community of practice. Required Task 2. Following the briefing, if needed, prepare a revised research plan that responds to insights gained from the briefing. Task 3. Describe and execute the data compilation and integration component of your research plan. Task 4. Analyze the baseline reliability issues and alternative strategies to improve reliability using the data from Task 3 and the selected analysis tools. Task 5. Prepare an Interim Report on the data compilation and analysis tasks. Participate in an interim Expert Task Group meeting in Washington, D.C., with all of the pilot site contractors and representatives of FHWA and AASHTO. Required Task 6. If your proposal included this element, use the results of the analyses to support funding for mitigating strategies in the decision-making process (L05 guidebook) Task 7. Evaluate the functionality of the products and outcomes that resulted. oTechnical feasibility of the products oWere the outputs understood by decision makers and regarded as credible? oWere the recommendations resulting from the products accepted and scheduled for implementation? Task 8. Prepare a draft final report that documents all tasks. Submit to SHRP 2 for review. In the proposal, include an outline of a final report. Required Task 9. Revise the draft final report in accordance with review comments. Required Deliverables 1.Revised Research Plan 2.Monthly and quarterly progress reports 3.Interim Report following Task 4. 4.Participate in a midterm meeting in Washington, D.C., after Task 4 to present interim findings to SHRP 2, and selected invitees from FHWA and AASHTO. 5.Draft Final Report 6.Final Report Evaluation Criteria for L38 Proposals SHRP 2 is seeking a mixture of proposals from agencies that have prior reliability and traffic monitoring expertise and those that are relatively new to reliability monitoring and analysis. In addition to the standard SHRP 2 evaluation criteria in General Note 1, these additional criteria will be used for this procurement. •Use of more than one of the SHRP 2 products •Demonstrate the best use of SHRP 2 products to inform the decision process •Clarity and practicality of the proposers' objectives •Demonstrate how use of the products will advance the agency to a higher level of capability and maturity as described in the SHRP 2 L06 report. Note: see website http://www.aashtosomguidance.org/ •Effectiveness in evaluating the usability and validity of SHRP 2 products. •Geographic diversity •Budget in relation to funds available Funds Available: Entire Project: $1,000,000. Multiple awards (three to four) are anticipated, depending on the quality of the proposals received and budgets proposed in order to maximize the number of products and locations tested. Contract Time: 14 months Responsible Staff: Stephen Andrle, sandrle@nas.edu 202-334-2810 Authorization to Begin Work: January 2013, anticipated Special notes 1. At the completion of the project, you may be asked to participate in a one-day close-out briefing in Washington, D.C., to review outcomes and to provide advice to FHWA and AASHTO on implementation of the analytical products. This would be funded separately. 2. To prepare your proposal, review the material posted on the SHRP 2 Web page for Project L38. All available background on products to be tested is posted. Final products are not available in all cases, so bidders will have to use this information as the basis for a proposal. Final products will be available by January 2013, when contracts are expected to be executed. A webinar pre-bid conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 13, 2012. Register for the webinar at http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/SHRP2Webinars.aspx or https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/936799872. Proposals (20 single-bound copies) are due at the address below by 4:30 p.m. on October 23, 2012. This is a firm deadline, and extensions are not granted. To be considered, all 20 copies of the agency's proposal accompanied by the executed, unmodified Liability Statement must be in our offices not later than the deadline shown, or they will be rejected. Delivery Address: PROPOSAL-SHRP 2 ATTN: Ann Brach Deputy Director, Strategic Highway Research Program 2 Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington DC 20001 Phone: 202-334-1340 Liability Statement The signature of an authorized representative of the proposing agency is required on the unaltered statement in order for SHRP 2 to accept the agency's proposal for consideration. Proposals submitted without this executed and unaltered statement by the proposal deadline will be rejected. An executed, unaltered statement indicates the agency's intent and ability to execute a contract that includes the provisions in the statement. Here is a printable version of the Liability Statement (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/LiabilityStatement.pdf). A free copy of the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader is available at http://www.adobe.com. The Liability Statement is included as Figure 1 in the Manual for Conducting Research and Preparing Proposals for SHRP 2 (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/PreparingSHRP2Reports.pdf) referred to in General Note 4. General Notes 1. Proposals will be evaluated by SHRP 2 staff and Expert Task Groups (ETGs) consisting of individuals collectively very knowledgeable in the problem area. Selection of an agency is made by the SHRP 2 Oversight Committee, based on the recommendation from SHRP 2 staff and the ETG. The following factors are considered: (1) the proposer's demonstrated understanding of the problem; (2) the merit of the proposed research approach and experimental design; (3) the experience, qualifications, and objectivity of the research team in the same or closely related problem area; (4) the proposer's plan for participation by disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs)-small firms owned and controlled by minorities or women; and (5) the adequacy of facilities. TRB and the SHRP 2 Oversight Committee strongly encourage the significant participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in SHRP 2 research contracts. Although no quota is specified nor is DBE participation mandated, the proposer's plan for involvement of DBEs is a factor in selection of the research contractor, and the contractor's adherence to its DBE plan will be monitored during the contract period. The "Research Team Builder" section of the SHRP 2 web site (http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Pages/Research_Team_Builder_177.aspx) is a resource for proposers interested in participating on research teams. 2. Any clarifications regarding this RFP will be posted on the SHRP 2 Web site (www.TRB.org/SHRP2). Announcements of such clarifications will be posted on the front page and, when possible, will be noted in the TRB e-newsletter. Proposers are advised to check the Web site frequently until October 9, 2012, when no further comments will be posted. 3. According to the provisions of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 21, which relates to nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, all parties are hereby notified that the contract entered into pursuant to this announcement will be awarded without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability. 4. The essential features required in a proposal for research are detailed in the Manual for Conducting Research and Preparing Proposals for SHRP 2 (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/PreparingSHRP2Reports.pdf). Proposals must be prepared according to this document, and attention is directed specifically to Section IV for mandatory requirements. Proposals that do not conform to these requirements will be rejected. 5. The total funds available are made known in the project statement, and line items of the budget are examined to determine the reasonableness of the allocation of funds to the various tasks. If the proposed total cost exceeds the funds available, the proposal is rejected. 6. All proposals become the property of the Transportation Research Board. Final disposition will be made according to the policies thereof, including the right to reject all proposals. IMPORTANT NOTICE Potential proposers should understand that the research project described herein is tentative. The final content of the program depends on the level of funding made available. Nevertheless, to be prepared to execute research contracts as soon as possible after sponsors' approvals, the second Strategic Highway Research Program is assuming that the tentative program will become official in its entirety and is proceeding with requests for proposals and selections of research agencies.
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