2026-2029 Bridge Maintenance Engineering Term Contract

2701 Prospect PO Box 201001
Christopher Dorrington, Director Helena MT 59620-1001
Date: June 12, 2026
Subject: Request for Proposals
2026 - 2029 Bridge Maintenance Engineering Term Contract
To Whom It May Concern:
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is accepting proposals from consulting firms
interested in a term contract for performing bridge maintenance engineering services at various
locations throughout Montana.
MDT intends to establish term contract(s) to utilize consultants on an "as-needed" basis for the
work described herein. At this time, the intention is to award up to two (2) agreements that will
be approximately $1,500,000 each, for a three-year period from August 2026 through July 2029.
MDT reserves the right to revise the number of term contracts, the contract values, or contract
timeframes, depending on the responses received. Extension(s) of contracts, by mutual
agreement of both parties, may be made at one (1) year intervals, or any interval that is
advantageous to MDT. Contracts, including any renewals, may not exceed a total of five (5)
years.
Teams may be established as necessary; however, it is expected that the prime consultant will be
capable of completing the vast majority of the work. As a rule, the prime consultant must
complete at least 50% of the work for a specific task assignment unless written exception is
given.
Montana professional engineering licensure is required for this work and must be in-hand at the
time your proposal is submitted. If this requirement is not met and clearly identified in the
proposal, your proposal will be considered non-responsive.
If your firm is interested, please submit a proposal as described herein.
Consultant Design Bureau Engineering Division
Phone: (406) 444-6209 An Equal Opportunity Employer TTY: (800) 335-7592
Fax: (406) 444-6253 Web Page: www.mdt.mt.gov

SCOPE OF WORK
1. General
a. The consultant will provide on-call professional structural engineering services to
support MDT's Bridge Maintenance Section in administering the statewide bridge
maintenance program and addressing structural and safety needs for state-owned
bridges and other transportation structures throughout Montana.
b. The consultant will provide the necessary personnel, software, equipment, and
expertise to review inspection, inventory, and load rating information; evaluate
structural conditions and maintenance needs; develop maintenance, preservation, and
repair recommendations; and provide technical support for bridge maintenance
engineering issues on an as-needed basis.
c. The types of structures to be evaluated under this contract are variable. Structures
may include, but are not limited to, highway bridges, sign structures, sign bridges,
luminaire and high-mast lighting structures, buffalo guards, and other transportation
structures assigned by MDT's Bridge Maintenance Section.
d. Work will be assigned through individual term assignments. Services may range from
brief technical reviews and staff augmentation for in-house MDT work to field
assessments, repair concept development, sealed repair details, writing special
provisions, developing cost estimates, and limited construction support for repairs
performed by internal MDT maintenance teams.
e. The consultant must be capable of performing various levels of bridge maintenance
engineering support, including, but not limited to:
i. Review of inspection findings, work candidates, maintenance concerns, and
available structure records.
ii. Review of existing load ratings and performance limitations, and performance
of load rating work directly related to deterioration, damage, repair, or
maintenance actions, when assigned. This work may include field work like
girder capacity assessments, field confirmation of cover thickness, in-depth
section loss quantification, etc.
iii. Development of repair, preservation, stabilization, or risk-mitigation
recommendations for structural elements and ancillary items.
iv. Preparation of concepts, sketches, calculations, sealed repair details, plans,
special provisions, and cost estimates of work to be performed by MDT
Maintenance forces or through procurement contract.
v. Emergency response engineering support, including special assessments,
damage inspections, temporary stabilization or shoring concepts, and
expedited technical recommendations.
vi. Technical review and assistance with standards, procedures, forms, templates,
manuals, and program documentation related to bridge maintenance
engineering and associated data management.
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vii. Quality control, data review, reporting, and direct support within MDT's
Bridge Structure Management System (BrM) and related MDT systems.
viii. Coordination and communication support with MDT districts, Bridge Bureau
units, Maintenance Division staff, Consultant Design, Construction, and other
internal MDT units, as directed by MDT.
f. The consultant may also be used for staff augmentation to supplement MDT Bridge
Maintenance Section capabilities during periods of high workload, urgent response,
specialized technical need, staffing gaps, or schedule-critical work.
g. Due to the nature of this work, responsiveness, efficiency, and expediency are
important skills to demonstrate. Some assignments may require accelerated response
times, short-notice mobilization, field reviews on active facilities, and rapid
development of repair recommendations or emergency field response.
2. Personnel
a. Consultant personnel must be qualified and have specific expertise in the work being
performed. A qualified person will have the necessary education, registrations and
licenses, skills, experience, and judgment to complete a particular task.
b. All engineering work performed under this contract will be completed by, or under
the direction of, a Professional Engineer licensed in Montana.
c. All final engineering deliverables requiring professional seal will be stamped by a
Professional Engineer registered in Montana.
d. Personnel performing inspection review, field investigation, repair development,
maintenance engineering support, or load rating support shall be certified as an NBIS
Bridge Inspection Team Leader with working knowledge, as applicable to the
assignment, of bridge inspection practices, structural evaluation, maintenance and
preservation concepts, structural analysis, detailing, constructability, and relevant
AASHTO, FHWA, and MDT requirements. The bridge inspection team leader must
meet one of the qualifications stated in the MDT Bridge Inspection Manual in
Chapter 2 and in Appendix 2A. For NSTM non-redundant steel tension member
work, the team leader must also be NHI Fracture Critical Inspection Certified, as per
requirements in Appendix 2A.
e. The consultant shall provide sufficient staffing and internal quality control procedures
to deliver work accurately and within the schedule established for each assignment,
including fast-tracked and emergency assignments.
3. Coordination and Scheduling
a. The consultant shall coordinate with the MDT term assignment manager and other
MDT staff identified for the work, as applicable to the assignment.
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b. Before work begins, the consultant shall provide a tentative schedule for field
reviews, interim deliverables, and final submittals when requested by MDT so MDT
can anticipate workload, coordinate access, and plan reviews.
c. The consultant shall promptly communicate significant findings, scope changes,
schedule concerns, access limitations, and urgent structural or safety issues to the
MDT term assignment manager and other MDT contacts identified for the
assignment.
d. If directed by MDT, the consultant shall participate in meetings, site visits,
conference calls, and coordination efforts with MDT districts, other MDT units,
contractors, fabricators, suppliers, utilities, railroads, and other affected parties.
4. Field Investigation and Assessments
a. In cases where there is not sufficient information available to evaluate a structure or
develop a maintenance or repair recommendation, the consultant shall provide
equipment or personnel necessary to obtain measurements, conduct field reviews,
verify details, document deterioration or damage, and assess structural condition.
b. Field work may include, but is not limited to, site visits, emergency call-out
assessments, damage inspections, crack and fracture evaluations, hands-on
verification of deterioration, corrosion or section loss measurements, temporary
stabilization or shoring concepts, and collection of information needed to support
repair recommendations or load rating data verification.
c. The consultant will provide all necessary traffic control and ensure that the traffic
control complies with the requirements in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control
Devices MUTCD, unless otherwise identified by MDT in the term assignment.
Typically, MDT will provide traffic control when substantial traffic control is needed
for repairs or field work.
d. When obtaining structural measurements or documenting existing conditions, the
consultant will use MDT measurement forms where applicable. In cases where the
standardized forms do not provide enough information, the consultant will create and
submit additional sketches, notes, photographs, and supporting documentation
sufficient to define the structure condition and support the engineering work.
e. If critical or potentially critical structural or safety issues are identified during field
work or document review, the consultant shall notify MDT immediately in
accordance with assignment-specific direction or contact procedures provided by
MDT.
5. Maintenance Engineering Services
a. The consultant shall provide maintenance engineering support for assigned structures
and issues identified by MDT. Support may include review of inspection findings,
deterioration mechanisms, damage history, previous repairs, available plans,
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calculations, load ratings, photographs, and maintenance records to determine
appropriate actions.
b. The consultant shall develop practical maintenance, preservation, repair, or mitigation
recommendations that consider structural behavior, safety, constructability, access,
traffic impacts, durability, risk, anticipated service life, and the likely method of
implementation by MDT Maintenance forces or by procurement contract.
c. Engineering services may include preparation of technical memoranda, evaluation
summaries, repair concepts, structural calculations, sealed repair details, plan sheets,
special provisions, quantity calculations, opinions of probable cost, and other
documents needed to implement the assigned work.
d. When directed by MDT, the consultant shall provide support for emergency or time-
sensitive situations, including engineering assessments of collision damage, flood or
scour-related concerns, fatigue or fracture-related concerns, unanticipated
deterioration, vehicle impact damage to sign or lighting structures, and other events
affecting serviceability or safety.
e. When assigned, the consultant shall provide limited construction support related to
maintenance repairs, including onsite direction and support to MDT maintenance
forces performing maintenance repairs, responding to requests for information,
reviewing submittals or shop drawings, evaluating field changes, reviewing
contractor questions, and providing technical clarification related to the consultant's
repair documents.
f. Load rating work under this contract will generally be limited in scope and directly
tied to maintenance, repair, damage, or special assessment needs. Such work may
include review of existing ratings, screening-level analyses, conventional ratings of
structures or members, load posting support, and documentation of assumptions and
recommendations, as directed by MDT.
g. The consultant may also provide technical support for MDT standards, procedures,
forms, templates, manuals, and program documentation related to bridge maintenance
engineering, repair documentation, work candidate development, and associated
quality control processes.
6. Data Entry and BrM Support
a. The consultant shall work directly within MDT's Bridge Structure Management
System (BrM) and related MDT systems, as applicable to the assignment and as
authorized by MDT.
b. Work in BrM may include review and update of structure-related information, upload
of reports and supporting documents, entry or update of maintenance-related records,
work candidates, photographs, comments, measurements, and other data required for
assignment documentation and program tracking.
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c. The consultant shall maintain organized, clear, and consistent electronic records and
shall use file naming, documentation, and data-entry practices consistent with MDT
procedures and assignment direction.
d. MDT will identify access requirements, approval workflows, and system expectations
applicable to the assignment. The consultant shall be responsible for ensuring that
submitted data and uploaded documents are complete, accurate, and ready for MDT
review.
7. Deliverables
a. Deliverables will be defined in individual term assignments. In general, deliverables
under this contract may include:
i. Technical memoranda, assessment summaries, and engineering
recommendations.
ii. Field investigation documentation, including notes, measurements, sketches,
and photographs.
iii. Repair concepts, plan sheets, sealed details, special provisions, and supporting
calculations.
iv. Estimates or opinions of probable cost, quantities, and implementation
recommendations.
v. Load rating documentation and supporting BrR files for assigned
maintenance-related load rating tasks.
vi. BrM updates, database records, work candidate updates, and supporting
attachments.
vii. Meeting materials, presentation materials, coordination summaries, and
meeting minutes.
viii. Drafts and final documents needed to support MDT decisions, maintenance
work, or contracted repairs.
8. Quality Control
a. The consultant is responsible for quality control of all work products and submittals.
b. Deliverables shall be checked for technical accuracy, completeness, internal
consistency, constructability, and conformance with MDT requirements before
submittal to MDT.
c. MDT personnel will review submittals to verify compliance with guidance and
assignment requirements and to ensure that documentation is adequate. Submittals
that are deficient may be returned for revision and resubmittal.
d. When required by MDT, the consultant shall incorporate MDT review comments,
revise deliverables accordingly, and resubmit within the timeframe established for the
assignment.
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9. Standards, Specifications, and Policies
a. Work under this contract shall be performed in accordance with applicable federal
and state requirements and MDT practices, as applicable to the assignment.
b. Applicable references may include, but are not limited to:
i. MDT Bridge Inspection Manual and applicable interim guidance.
ii. MDT Bridge Load Rating and Posting guidance or manual and associated
interim guidance.
iii. MDT Bridge Design detail standards and other applicable MDT manuals,
guides, procedures, and policies.
iv. The latest applicable version of the AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation
MBE.
v. The latest applicable version of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design
Specifications.
vi. National Bridge Inspection Standards NBIS, Specifications for the National
Bridge Inventory SNBI, and applicable FHWA requirements and guidance,
where relevant to the assigned work.
vii. Other references identified by MDT in the term assignment.
LOCATION
Various - Statewide
PROJECT/TASK SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES
The project schedule will be developed and negotiated separately for each individual term/task
assignment. At this time, it is anticipated that deliverables will generally follow those described
assignment-specific direction from MDT.
STANDARDS, SPECIFICATIONS, AND POLICIES
Work is expected to follow MDT's various Manuals, Guides, and Policies. These items may be
found on MDT's Design Consulting web page at: http://www.mdt.mt.gov/business/consulting/.
PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL
Submit one (1) electronic version (Adobe(C) PDF format) of the proposal. Hard copy
proposals will not be accepted.
Submit the electronic version by uploading to the State of Montana File Transfer Service (FTS)
site, which can be accessed at this link: https://transfer.mt.gov. To upload to FTS, an account
must be created unless the person who is uploading already has an account. Uploading
instructions can be accessed at https://transfer.mt.gov/Home/Instructions. When your proposal
has been uploaded, the FTS system will prompt you for an email address to send to. Please send
this email of your uploaded proposal to the following individuals:
Sheryl Tangen: stangen@mt.gov
Kelly Williams: kwilliams@mt.gov
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David McKay: dmckay@mt.gov
The Department must receive the proposals for this RFP no later than 3:00 PM MST, July
9, 2026.
Regardless of cause, late proposals will not be accepted and will automatically be disqualified
from further consideration. It shall be solely the vendor's responsibility to assure delivery at the
specified office by the specified time. Offeror may request the State return late proposals at
vendor's expense or the State will dispose of late proposals if requested by the offeror. (See
Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) 2.5.509.). If no request is made, late proposals become
the property of the Department. All proposals submitted on time become the property of the
Department.
The costs for developing and delivering responses to this solicitation are entirely the
responsibility of the offeror. The State is not liable for any expense incurred by the offeror in the
preparation and presentation of this submittal.
TENTATIVE RFP/SELECTION SCHEDULE
The anticipated schedule for consultant solicitation and selection for this contract is as follows
(subject to change):
June 12, 2026: RFP released
July 9, 2026: Proposals due to be submitted to MDT Consultant Design
July 31, 2026: Proposals reviewed, rated, and ranked by the evaluation committee
August 5, 2026: Consultant Selection Board meeting to select consultant(s)
There are three (3) members on the evaluation committee for this RFP (subject to change):
1. MDT Bridge Bureau Maintenance Supervisor
2. MDT Bridge Bureau Civil Engineering Specialist
3. MDT Consultant Design Project Manager
PROPOSAL CONTENTS
The proposal must contain the information listed in this section. The proposal is limited to five
(5) pages, not including the required Appendices. A single cover jacket/title page is allowed if
desired and will not count in the page limit. Each page is defined as one side of a letter size sheet
(no larger than 8 12" x 11"), minimum font size of 10. Evaluation of information will begin with
the first page immediately following the cover jacket/title page, and every page will be counted,
in order, from that point forward, including any table of contents or divider pages the firm wishes
to include. Once the page limit is reached, any information included thereafter will be removed
and not considered or scored. Please organize your proposal in the same order and numbering
format as shown below, which will assist MDT in reviewing your proposal:
Questions
1) Team Qualifications
Provide a discussion on how the team you propose to use for this contract (including
subconsultants, if used) is best qualified to respond to the requirements of this contract.
Discussion should focus on the requirements for this specific contract, particularly your
team's expertise and experience, as it relates to the work described in the "Scope of
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Work" section above. Provide examples of previous related experience as it relates to
these services. Identify professional licensure of staff that satisfy the requirements for this
contract. Include an organization chart that indicates the staff identified for this contract,
their area of expertise, registration, and office location(s). Also briefly discuss your
compatibility of systems, software, and equipment (i.e. CADD software, word processing
software, etc.), and experience with these systems, software, and equipment. The
Department's standard design software is Autodesk(R) technology included in the
Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) Collection. Describe any special
equipment or software you intend to use. Resumes may be considered as supporting
documentation to verify / supplement the qualifications described in the proposal.
However, scoring will be based solely on the narrative response included in the Team
Qualifications section of the proposal.
2) Approach to Task Assignments
Transportation work has many challenging aspects, and the development and delivery of
a successful work product that addresses and mitigates specific challenges is of utmost
interest to MDT. Discuss the challenges you foresee as they relate to this type of work,
your strategy for addressing these challenges, and your specific experience in
implementing the strategies identified. Describe your quality assurance/quality control
process. Provide a discussion on your overall strategy for delivering work in a timely
manner, including fast-tracked or emergency tasks and changing priorities.
Appendix A: Resumes
Include brief resumes for the key personnel to be assigned to the contract. Resumes are
limited to one (1) page per person.
Appendix B: Cover Page Form
Include a completed version of MDT's standard cover page form, available at the following
location:
http://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/webdata/external/cdb/MDT-CDB-002-Proposal-SOQ-Cover-Sheet.pdf
Information presented in the cover page form will not be considered in proposal scoring.
Appendix C: References
Submit references that includes a minimum of five (5) separate contracts from the past
three (3) years. If applicable, you may submit multiple contracts for a single client. Each
contract must pertain to work similar to the proposed scope of services. Include client
name, a currently employed primary contact person, an alternative contact person,
corresponding valid phone numbers and emails for both contacts, a range of contract value,
and a brief description of the work performed. If MDT needs to use these references for the
Past Performance Score (as described in the "Evaluation of Proposals" section below) and
is unable to contact the required number of references after a reasonable effort, the firm
will receive a zero for the missing reference(s).
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
All proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the following factors:
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1) Team Qualifications (100 points possible)
2) Approach to Task Assignments (50 points possible)
3) Record of past performance (30 points possible)
a) If two (2) or more MDT evaluations specific to the discipline for this contract are
available for the consultant, the average score of these evaluations will be used.
Evaluations for Project Management & Overall Performance will also be included.
b) If fewer than two (2) MDT evaluations specific to the discipline for this contract are
available for the consultant, but there are two (2) or more MDT evaluations are
available for other work disciplines, the consultant's current overall past performance
score from MDT evaluations will be used.
c) If there is only one (1) MDT evaluation available for the consultant, the record of past
performance score will be an average of the MDT evaluation and one (1) reference
check from the references provided in the unbound attachment.
d) If no MDT evaluations are available, the average score of two (2) reference checks
from the references provided in the unbound attachment will be used for this score.
Regardless of partnership/teaming relationships, the past performance of the prime
consultant will be the past performance scored that will be used for this score.
All Proposals will be evaluated using the following basic scoring methodology:
Outstanding/Exceptional response: 90-100% of the available points
o
Good response: 70-90% of the available points
o
Average response: 50-70% of the available points
o
Poor response: 30-50% of the available points
o
Qualifications not clearly met: 0-30% of the available points
o
Following the review, evaluation, and rating of all proposals, the final results will be presented to
the Consultant Selection Board (Board) at the MDT Headquarters Building. At this time, the
Board will select the most qualified firm(s) for TERM CONTRACT(S). The Board may consider
any proposal scoring within 2% of another proposal as equally qualified and take into account its
knowledge of the firms' workload, past performance, and familiarity with the specific work to be
performed in selecting the most-qualified consultant(s).
SELECTION OF CONSULTANTS FOR TASK ASSIGNMENTS
If multiple consultants are selected and multiple term contracts are awarded, task or work orders
(term assignments) will be awarded through an additional qualifications-based selection
procedure. This selection procedure will be comprised of selecting a firm in accordance with the
following weighted factors:
1) Qualifications for specific Task Assignment (60 points possible)
a) Using the proposals submitted in response to this RFP and work performed with
MDT since the submittal of this proposal: an evaluation of the consultant's
qualifications as related to the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the
individual task assignment, including familiarity with the region in which the task
assignment is located. Firm office location is not the determining factor for this score.
(50 points possible)
b) As relating to this type of work, the firm's current workload and amount of recent
work with MDT. (10 points possible)
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