RFQ Engineering - Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Review Niagara Gorge Corridor Phase II: Parkway Removal Project

The New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is seeking to retain a professional civil engineering, planning, landscape architecture, and environmental firm and/or team to provide planning, preliminary design, and environmental review services related to the proposed removal/reconfiguration of a five-mile expressway segment of the Niagara Scenic Parkway (the "Project") in Niagara Falls and Lewiston, NY. Selection will be according to Qualification Based Selection Procedures. This document summarizes the contracting opportunity, potential activities to be performed under the contract, submittal instructions, and required qualifications. Fee structure, actual fee, and task orders will be negotiated after the most qualified firm has been selected. The Niagara Gorge[1] Corridor portion of the former Robert Moses Parkway (now the Niagara Scenic Parkway, or hereinafter the "Parkway")--which had extended almost seven miles along the rim of the Gorge from Main Street in downtown Niagara Falls to Center Street in the Village of Lewiston--was the subject of federally-sponsored planning/engineering process beginning in 2010, evaluating alternatives for reconfiguration or removal of the limited-access expressway features of the Parkway originally built in the early 1960s. Following an extensive Public Scoping Process, three (3) conceptual alternatives for removal or reconfiguration of the Parkway remained, all of which had similar features for the southernmost two miles of the corridor from Main Street to Findlay Drive. In conjunction with state and federal officials, a decision was made in 2013 to purposely phase the project, advancing a Phase I project (involving the removal of the Main-Findlay segment of the Parkway and reconstruction of local streets that had immediately abutted the Parkway) to preliminary engineering, environmental review, final design, and construction, with the balance of the corridor being evaluated once Phase I was completed, which occurred in 2021. The Phase II segment, extending north from Findlay Drive to Center Street in Lewiston, crosses four OPRHP-owned State Parks, crosses the New York Power Authority's (NYPA's) Robert Moses Power Generating Station, and passes by Niagara/Lewiston residential neighborhoods and some large public and private institutional uses including the Niagara University campus, Lewiston-Queenston International Bridge, and Niagara Falls Country Club. The Niagara Gorge itself contains a rich natural setting, including a wide range of vegetation and habitats, and supports various types of recreational activities including hiking, fishing, cycling, etc. The Parkway itself is owned by OPRHP, sits on both OPRHP and NYPA-owned land, and is maintained under agreement by the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Local and regional roads paralleling and/or adjoining the Parkway in the Phase II segment include Lewiston Road (NYS Route 104), Hyde Park Boulevard, Upper Mountain Road, and Center Street. Overall, traffic levels on the Parkway and adjoining roads are modest, ranging between 3,000 and 4,000 two-way average annual daily traffic (AADT) on the Parkway and most adjoining/parallel streets. The exception of this is selected five-lane segments of Route 104, which can exhibit AADTs of roughly 20,000. In the wake of the completion of Phase I, which created the "Gorgeview" section of Niagara Falls State Park on land that once carried expressway lanes of the Parkway, OPRHP is seeking to advance preliminary design and environmental review for the balance of the Project Corridor. Like Phase I, the goal would be to remove the physical barriers presented by the Parkway's expressway features and provide full public access to/among the unique natural environments created by the lower Niagara River, Gorge, and the adjoining neighborhoods, allowing them to be perceived and experienced as a single "place". The specific objective of the work is to undertake supplemental scoping, preliminary design and assessments to complete required state/federal environmental findings and design approval for this phase of the Project. Bidders should demonstrate skills and experience in the following disciplines: Preliminary civil engineering (highway/bridge design, drainage, etc.) Transportation simulation and analysis Landscape architecture - park and open space restoration Visual photo-simulation of concept/preliminary designs Ecological assessment and restoration Construction cost estimating Constructability/construction phasing analyses Geotechnical design and investigations Public/stakeholder participation/coordination Federal/State environmental review, including required associated studies and surveys (e.g., land use, air quality/noise, water quality, environmental justice, Section 4(f) evaluations, etc.) State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) consultation activities for historic and cultural/ archaeological resources Topographic and boundary surveying Property acquisition, appraisal, and related support services (Note: primarily to support NYSDOT/ FHWA requirements to secure construction-period easements/right-of-way; no permanent property acquisition anticipated to support project) Minority Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 3% Women Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 3% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Contracting Goal: 6% Disadvantaged Owned Sub-Contracting Goal: 0% Contract term: 36 months CR Number: 2092296 The method of Contractor Selection has not been Determined at this time

Division 31 -	Earthwork.
Division 32 -	Exterior Improvements.
Division 33 -	Utilities.
Division 34 -	Transportation.
Division 35 -	Waterway and Marine Construction.