Claremont seeks engineering firms for on-call infrastructure support

Claremont’s Department of Public Works is seeking outside engineering firms to backstop the city’s infrastructure workload, a move that could shape how roads, culverts, drainage, and other capital projects are handled in the months ahead. The request for qualifications, titled DPW - Professional Engineering Support Services, was originally issued May 15 and asks firms to provide on-call professional engineering help for a broad range of public works needs.

The scope reaches well beyond routine review work. The city is looking for support in transportation engineering, bridges and culverts, and multi-disciplinary infrastructure assignments that can include roadway design, intersection design, traffic analysis, ADA compliance evaluations, drainage and stormwater treatment, bridge and culvert design, hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, land surveying, permit applications, geotechnical work, and assistance with funding and compliance requirements. In practical terms, the contract could help Claremont move faster on projects that require specialized expertise the department does not always have in-house.

The procurement sets a fast schedule. Firms must submit five hard copies of their qualification packages by Friday, June 5, 2026, at 10 a.m. The city will publicly open the packages on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. in City Council Chambers at 8 Grandview Street. Questions about the RFQ were due May 29, and the notice directs interested firms to the city manager office routing and the Department of Public Works for more information. The contract is structured as an initial one-year term with mutually agreed annual extensions for up to five additional years.

Claremont also clarified that the new solicitation is not replacing existing water and wastewater design work. In a May 27 amendment, Public Works Director Alex Gleeson said water transmission and water system design remain under contract with Dufresne Group, while wastewater transmission and wastewater system design remain under contract with Wright-Pierce. The new on-call pool is meant to broaden flexibility for future project delivery, emergency support, supplemental capacity, grant-funded initiatives, and specialized services not covered by those existing agreements.

The city’s separate Washington Street culvert RFQ underscores why that flexibility matters. Claremont has already received a FEMA BRIC scoping grant to cover engineering, environmental, hydraulic, feasibility, and benefit-cost analysis work tied to replacing two culverts carrying Grandy Brook under Washington Street. With a preliminary design scope expected to be complete by August 1, the city appears to be building out a pipeline of engineering-heavy work that will require steady outside support as Claremont weighs road, utility, and capital planning needs.