Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Acquisition Management, 400 7th St. SW, Washington, DC, 20590

B -- MIHE/HBCU COMPETITIVE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SOL DTFH61-00-R-00028 DUE 051500 POC Lise Lyles, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-366-4229, Fax 202-366-3705, Email lise.lyles@fhwa.dot.gov -- Lise Lyles, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-366-4229, Fax 202-366-3705, Email WEB: Visit this URL for the latest information about this, http://www.eps.gov/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS?ACode=M&ProjID=DTFH61-00-R-00028&LocID=30. E-MAIL: Lise Lyles, lise.lyles@fhwa.dot.gov. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES -- The Office of Acquisition Management has established a competitive assistance program limited to participation by Minority Institutions of Higher Education (MIHE) including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)*. The purpose of this program is to foster the HBCUs/MIHE research and development activities which contribute substantially to the Federal Highway Administration_s (FHWA) mission and to prepare the faculty and students at HBCUs/MIHE to successfully participate in the competitive research arena. The program is established in accordance with Section 5001 (a)(1) and Authority: 23 U.S.C. 307 and 403; E.O. No. 12876, 58 FR 58735, 3 CFR, 1994 Comp., p. 671; E.O. No. 13021, 61 FR 54929, 3 CFR, 1997 Comp., p. 221; 49 CFR 1.48. The FHWA_s current legislation, TEA-21, states that the Federal share of the cost shall be 80 percent, which means that any recipient of Federal funds must cost-share 20 percent of the project. Cost-sharing is required because the successful awardee is expected to accrue benefits from participating in the project. Cost-sharing may be in any form, including but not limited to monies, personal property or services, or real property or interest therein, needed for the project. The value of the cost-share will be established by mutual agreement between the agency and the recipient. *A HBCUs is defined in 34 CFR 608.2 as an accredited college or university, established prior to 1964, whose principle mission was and is, the education of African-Americans. An Indian Serving Institution, which includes Tribal Colleges, as well as, Bureau of Indian Affairs affiliated institutions must have a student body of at least 51% American Indian to acquire and maintain Tribal College status. A Hispanic Serving Institution, as defined by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), must have at least a 25% Hispanic student body. This entitles the school to a full membership in HACU. The HACU accepts associate memberships from institutions with a smaller percentage, of not less than 10% Hispanic students. All awards made under this program must be relevant to one or more of the FHWA_s five strategic goals of mobility, safety, productivity, human and natural environment, and national security. The MOBILITY goal concerns the continual improvement of the public_s access to activities, goods, and services through the preservation, improvement, and expansion of the highway transportation system and enhancement of its operations, efficiency, and intermodal connections. The SAFETY goal concerns continual improvement of highway safety by reducing the number of fatalities and injuries. The PRODUCTIVITY goal concerns the continual improvement of the economic efficiency of the Nation_s transportation system to enhance America_s position in the global economy. The HUMAN AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT goal concerns the protection and enhancement of the natural environment and communities affected by highway transportation. The NATIONAL SECURITY goal seeks the improvement of the capacity and operation of the highway system to support defense mobilization. Our strategic plan recognizes the inherent nature of cross-cutting goals, under which success in one area flows directly to success under a second or third goal. As such, our Corporate Management Strategies (CMS) which embodies the principles contained in the Quality Journey, provides the overarching framework that will enable us to achieve our vision under all goals. On or about March 31, 2000, the FHWA will issue a solicitation for the FY-2000 program. Eligible offerors will be invited to submit applications for the following projects: (1) DETERMINING ADVISORY SPEED LIMITS -- Survey the methods used by highway agencies in determining the _advisory speed_ limit and review existing research in the speed limits. Document the best practices which could be included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. (Period of Performance 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (2) USING ITS TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY -- Survey the States and local jurisdictions on ITS technologies they are using to better warn motorists of an on-coming train and survey applicable ITS companies on other ITS technologies which may be appropriate. Document the current _best practices_ which could be included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. (Period of Performance 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (3) MODEL ZONING ORDINANCES FOR DELIVERY VEHICLES -- This project would look at existing zoning ordinances around the country and develop model ordinances based on the types and sizes of developments. Local jurisdictions will have model ordinances to support zoning, land use, and transportation planning. (Period of Performance 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (4) IDENTIFY PROCESSES TO REDUCE HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TIMES -- Define and describe the highway construction processes in order to identify potential changes that could lead to reduced construction project times. Research conducted by the Construction Industry Institute suggests that a detailed examination of the specific stages of the processes could yield valuable information needed to realize significant time savings which ultimately translates into reduced costs. (Period of Performance, 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (5) LOCATION MARKER SIGNS FOR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT -- Survey the States and local jurisdictions on location referencing sign systems they are using. Document the current _best practices_ for providing location referencing via signs, recommendations for additional experimentation if needed, and guidance material which can be included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. (Period of Performance 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (6) BASE CRASH MODELS FOR INTERCHANGES -- Hire a part-time student who will be able to work onsite at Turner Fairbank Research Center to help develop base crash models for major interchange types as a function of exposure (entering average daily traffic) and other factors. (Period of Performance, 13 months) Federal share: $35,000 Recipient_s share: $ 8,750 Total Amount: $43,750; (7) ADAPTION OF INVERSE ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION METHODS TO THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR ROADSIDE SAFETY STRUCTURES -- Hire a full time student to work at the National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC), part of the George Washington University (GWU). FHWA is presently sponsoring research at GWU to adapt and automate existing Inverse Analysis Methods and Design Optimization Methods to the selection process for the _next trail configuration_ with the requirement that an improvement in both safety and cost be the outcome of the next analysis iteration. The expected long range outcome from this effort is a design program that efficiently guides a designer to higher performing prototyperoadside safety structures. (Period of Performance, 9 -12 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (8) SAFETY CONCERNS RELATED TO DESIGN/BUILD PROJECTS -- Determine the extent of safety related issues in past and current design/build projects. This study would identify safety problems and concerns and offer best practices to reduce and/or alleviate them. The study would offer language to be incorporated into state contracts and a brochure/report detailing the findings and best practices would be made available to all state DOTs and LPAs. (Period of Performance, 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (9) NOISE-COMPATIBLE LAND-USE PLANNING -- Develop a brochure which highlights and summarizes successful efforts by state and/or local governments to practice noise-compatible land-use planning. The results will be posted on the Internet for access by the public. (Period of Performance, 9 months) Federal share: $50,000 Recipient_s share: $12,500 Total Amount: $62,500; (10) ACADEMIC FORUM -- Plan an academic forum focusing on transportation issues among the community college and university sectors. The activity would enhance communication between the two elements and serve to strengthen articulation between the two. (Period of Performance, 8 months) Federal share: $60,000 Recipient_s share: $15,000 Total Amount: $75,000; (11) TRANSPORTATION EXPERTISE POOL -- Develop a directory of transportation professionals, posting the areas of expertise, academic backgrounds and any actual work experience of former Eisenhower Fellowship recipients, graduates of UTCs and other students who have benefitted from the FHWA university-based programs. Such a directory, to be posted at a web site, would facilitate new transportation professionals_ job searches or employment transitions and benefit the transportation community-at-large. (Period of Performance, 6-8 months) Federal share: $40,000 Recipient_s share: $10,000 Total Amount: $50,000; (12) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: WORKING WITH COMMUNITY-BASED GROUPS ON TRANSPORTATION -- Explore the effective use of community-based organizations in engaging the public and in particular low income and minority people as part of the transportation planning process. The project would include two phases: one an overview of the experiences working with community-based organizations and two, support for and documentation of partnerships between the States and local transportation agencies and community-based organizations. (Period of Performance, 15 months) Federal share: $60,000 Recipient_s share: $15,000 Total Amount: $75,000; (13) HIGHWAY SAFETY CHALLENGES ON LOW-VOLUME RURAL ROADS -- Examine highway safety issues on rural roads with traffic volumes of less than 200 vehicles per day for the purposes of identifying the principal safety-related problems that exist on these roads and recommend cost-effective treatments. The result will be guidelines to assist highway agencies in identifying critical safety deficiencies on their roads and help them determine whether or not remedial action should be taken. (Period of Performance, 18 months) Federal share: $45,000 Recipient_s share: $11,250 Total Amount: $56,250; (14) MITIGATING REFLECTION CRACKING -- Cracks propagating to the surface of overlays from overlain concrete joints are a serious concern to most highway agencies. This study will evaluate the two factors that influence the longevity of the geo-synthetic solution. PAVE2D will be used to determine stress levels in different types of geo-synthetics placed at different spacing above the joint and laboratory tests will be performed to study crack propagation characteristics as it relates to placement configuration. (Period of Performance, 18 months) Federal share: $100,000 Recipient_s share: $ 25,000 Total Amount: $125,000; (15) IMPROVING PAVEMENT SUB-SURFACE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS BY CONSIDERING UNSATURATED WATER FLOW -- Extend the understanding of pavement sub-surface drainage systems to include unsaturated water flow. Develop a simulation program for evaluating pavement drainage system behavior including the unsaturated flow. Evaluate existing systems across the US and provide information that could be used to design improved systems in the future. (Period of Performance, 18 months) Federal share: $60,000 Recipient_s share: $15,000 Total Amount: $75,000; (16) CONCRETE ADMIXTURE -- Develop a series of admixture seminars that will be shared with the Federal Government, State government, and industry. Establish a Technical Working Group (TWG) with members drawn from industry, academia and government agencies that have expertise in concrete technology. Gather ideas and recommendations that will be used to prepare curriculum materials for the seminar. (Period of Performance, 12 months) Federal share $55,000 Recipient_s share: $13,750 Total Amount: $68,750; (17) INTEGRATION OF ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION -- Develop a web-based system to provide road closure information on all or part of the National Highway system in case of a national emergency, national disaster, or severe weather. Study the feasibility of implementing a GIS based system using three States. (Period of Performance, 18 months) Federal share: $190,000 Recipient_s share: $ 47,500 Total Amount: $237,500. THE PROPOSED REQUEST FOR APPLICATION (RFA) WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY AT: HTTP://EPS.GOV UNDER DOT (DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION) BY FHWA. PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS SHALL NOTIFY LISE LYLES ELECTRONICALLY OF THEIR INTENT TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION PACKAGE. IT IS THE APPLICANT_S RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR THE INTERNET SITE FOR THE RELEASE OF THE RFA AND AMENDMENTS (IF ANY). POTENTIAL APPLICANTS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWNLOADING THEIR OWN COPY OF THE RFA AND AMENDMENTS (IF ANY). POINT OF CONTACT: LISE S. LYLES, CONTRACTING OFFICER, E-MAIL ADDRESS: LISE.LYLES@FHWA.DOT.GOV, FAX (202) 366-3705. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE IN WRITING. IT IS PREFERRED THAT QUESTIONS BE E-MAILED TO LISE.LYLES@FHWA.DOT.GOV AND CC: TO DEBBIE.RIDGELY@FHWA.DOT.GOV. Posted 04/21/00 (D-SN447462). (0112)

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