CDOT and HPTE release draft RFP for I-70 East Project

Denver — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) released the first section of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the I-70 East Project. This public release is another step in CDOT and HPTE’s commitment to increase public participation activities, as well as process improvements to be more efficient and transparent over the past year.

The Request for Proposals, or RFP, is one of the most important elements in a highly competitive selection process to select a developer for the I-70 East Project. CDOT is seeking a developer team to design and construct the project as well as to operate and maintain the corridor over an extended period.

The RFP lays out CDOT’s expectations — technical scope, contractual requirements and performance standards for the project. Four developer teams, which were selected in July 2015, will be asked to respond with highly detailed information about how they propose to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the I-70 East Project. In addition, teams must provide detailed financial information and outline how they will ensure transparency and meet the goals of the state, the general public and impacted communities.

“We are excited to begin working with these teams to see what ideas and efficiencies they can bring to deliver this critical project to Colorado,” said Tony DeVito, I-70 East Project Director. “This dialogue is a key purpose of the Request for Proposal process and I’m pleased that the public will be able to see the RFP evolve in the coming months.”

The RFP process will produce several drafts over an estimated 8 month period. Today, the first component of the RFP, the Instructions to Proposers, is released. The remainder of the first draft will be released Sept. 29, and will also be publicly available. All RFP drafts will be available to both the developer teams and the public when released. Based upon the detailed review against complex criteria, a developer partner will be selected in fall 2016.

“HPTE is committed to engage Colorado residents and stakeholders and to gather input throughout the developer selection process,” Tim Gagen, Chair of the HPTE Board of Directors. “We know transparency and engagement is a very important part of the process to select the right partner for this critical corridor project.”

The public release of the RFQ and RFP drafts continue the implementation of the Transparency Policy adopted by HPTE in July 2014, which incorporates an Executive Order from Gov. John Hickenlooper directing CDOT to expand the transparency and public participation in future public-private partnerships. Since the adoption of the policy, HPTE has improved its processes and implemented various public education, transparency and outreach initiatives in targeted corridors:

The proposed I-70 East Project would add one additional managed lane in each direction on I-70 from Interstate-25 to Interstate-225, remove the 50-year-old viaduct and lower the interstate between Brighton Blvd. and Colorado Blvd, and construct a four-acre cover over a portion of the lowered interstate. The two-mile long viaduct is the last of 30 poor bridge structures in the state yet to be addressed. CDOT is the final stages of completing a 12-year Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for I-70 East and expects to release the final EIS in January 2016.

The HPTE was formed to pursue innovative means of more efficiently financing important transportation projects that will improve the safety, capacity and accessibility of the transportation system. For this project, HPTE is working in support role to CDOT to facilitate the public-private partnership.

For the I-70 East Draft RFP, visit https://www.codot.gov/programs/high-performance-transportation-enterprise-hpte/projects/i-70/i-70-east-1/request-for-proposals-rfp.

For more information, visit www.coloradohpte.com and www.codot.gov/projects/i70east. For more information on the environmental study, visit www.I-70east.com.