Benton County is seeking written proposals from a qualified consultant or consultants to assist in development of the Design of County State Aid Highway 29 Extension. Best Value Alternative selection criteria will be used to analyze submittals from responding consultants by a review committee. Upon completion of ranking based on qualifications, interviews may be held with the top ranked firms. Benton County may enter into contract negotiations with the consultants whose proposal most appropriately meets the County's needs. Benton County reserves the right to reject any or all submittals. Benton County Department of Public Works office will be given equal consideration. Respondents must submit an electronic copy of the materials described in the RFP Proposal Submittal section (Hard copies are accepted but not required). Project Timeline It is anticipated that work described in this RFP will begin in December 2023 in preparation for construction beginning in 2025/2026. In addition to the work described later in Project Tasks the Consultant should develop a schedule of when key design elements will be completed. The Consultant will be responsible for following their schedule. Proposal Submittal Proposers are asked to report how much time will be spent on each task, broken down by staff person(s) assigned to each task/subtask with hourly billing rates and expenses. A separate table outlining hour detail by task and assigned staff person with assumed costs must be provided as a separate file in the email. Cost is a factor in the proposal evaluation. The Proposal shall be submitted on 8.5"x11" sheets and shall not exceed 20 pages in length, including cover letter and all exhibits and appendices (not including required forms). Note: Time/Hours & Costs sheets are allowed to be on 11"x17" or smaller sheets. Benton County is soliciting for proposals for the Highway 29 extension project, which includes preliminary and final design, environmental documentation, and geotechnical exploration and engineering for approximately 2.5 miles of new highway alignment. The project will begin at the intersection of CSAH 29 (35th Street NE) and CSAH 1 (Mayhew Lake Rd) and will extend CSAH 29 easterly to CSAH 3 (Golden Spike Rd). The goal of the project is to construct a roadway on a new alignment that fills a gap in a proposed beltline roadway that would connect TH10 in Sauk Rapids to the St. Cloud Municipal Airport. The constructed roadway will need to meet and/or exceed minimum State Aid Design standards for the projected traffic volume.