Dickinson releases 2026 transportation RFP, outlines four projects and procurement timeline

Josh, a City of Dickinson staff member, opened a vendor briefing to correct an earlier website posting and to walk through the city’s 2026 transportation request for proposals, which lists four projects including two mill-and-overlay street projects, targeted intersection analyses on the State Avenue corridor and multiple roadway structure repairs.

The RFP package lists “2026 10 Empire Road” from 23rd Avenue West to 8th Avenue West and Fairway Street from State Avenue to 13th Avenue West as the two mill-and-overlay projects; staff said both include ADA work and lighting where needed and that the projects are envisioned for the 2029 construction timeframe. “If you’re looking at a version that only has two projects described in there, take a look at the website. The latest version got updated a couple days ago,” Josh said, apologizing for the initial posting error.

City staff said the transportation master plan recently adopted the intersection analysis along State Avenue (from Fairway to 21st Street West) as a top priority and that warrant studies have been identified for several intersections. The city also listed a set of aging box culverts and small bridge structures requiring repair; staff said inspections show degradation but not immediate load restrictions.

On procurement timing and technical work, staff announced plans to issue a geotechnical RFP in February 2026 to obtain soil borings and pavement cores for the mill-and-overlay projects. Inspection records for identified structures were completed in 2025, and the city also has 2023 inspection records available; proposers were told to request those from Sylvia Miller.

Vendors asked several operational questions. Tim Arons of Akron asked about televising storm and sanitary sewer lines along the project corridors and about notification if repairs are found; an on-call participant said the televising work “is either mostly or completely done already at this time” and that any remaining work should be finished by the end of the calendar year. Brandy Presnell of Outer Edge asked whether proposers should include repair work in their base proposals; Josh said the city will provide CCTV/TB data and expects firms to review it, but that “anything above and beyond that, any repairs, any replacements … would be ultimately a contract amendment.”

Brandy also asked whether federal highway funding would be administered by the Nebraska Department of Transportation; staff confirmed NDOT (the DOT) will be involved on eligibility and reporting and that the city will manage engineering and its own schedule while complying with DOT specifications and securing PCN numbers for funding compliance. Jordan, a Stantec representative, asked whether sidewalks and ADA ramps would trigger a special improvement district and whether the city would handle temporary easements; staff said no special improvement districts are included for classified roadways and that easements and grading outside rights-of-way would need to meet DOT criteria, with the city handling payments similar to DOT practice.

The city clarified a procurement date after a vendor noticed a discrepancy: tentative interviews are scheduled for Dec. 10 (not Nov. 10). Josh said whether the city interviews every qualified proposer will depend on the number of submittals and how close scores are—if only one submittal is received, the city would likely not hold interviews.

The city will post the recorded briefing and the RFP PDF to the same location on the Dickinson City website and circulate the recording to attendees. The RFP package contains project vicinity maps, block-by-block PCI data, and other supporting documents; proposers were urged to request any additional materials from Sylvia Miller.

Next steps: proposers should check the updated RFP on the city website, review CCTV and inspection materials provided by the city, and note the tentative interview window of Dec. 10.