Stimulus News You Can Use is one way WSDOT is working to keep transportation stakeholders updated on the fast-moving effort to put people to work and improve the state’s infrastructure. Each edition will have information on project delivery and highlights. Sign up to receive stimulus news e-mail updates. Visit the Newsletter Archive for earlier editions.

This week's stimulus snapshot

• Seattle City Council gives approval to award Mercer Corridor TIGER project 
• Cable median barrier project completed on SR 8 near Elma 
• WSDOT prepares Recovery Act performance reports 
• Construction begins on SR 503 project near Lake Merwin 
• Important stimulus dates 
• Useful Recovery Act web links 
• Stimulus data table update
  
  

Seattle awards Mercer Corridor TIGER project – On June 14, the Seattle City Council gave the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) authority to award the construction contract on a portion of the $161 million Mercer Corridor project. SDOT awarded the project on June 16 and expects to break ground in late July or early August, according to a city of Seattle news release. U.S. DOT selected the city’s project to receive a $30 million competitive stimulus grant in February as part of the $1.5 billion Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.

WSDOT completed a cable median barrier project in Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties – Crews completed work last month on a project installing cable median barrier on SR 8 between Elma and US 101. The project was one of 13 statewide cable barrier projects receiving $9 million in stimulus funds.

WSDOT prepares accountability reports for Congress, OMB – WSDOT is preparing to deliver performance reports to Congress, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Governor’s Office of Financial Management (OFM). The next monthly report to the Congressional Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T & I) is due on June 20. The next quarterly reports to OMB and OFM, including project and employment data from April, May, and June, are due on July 14. Previous reports and information are available on the WSDOT federal stimulus reporting website and the federal stimulus webpage, Recovery.gov.

Federal Transportation Blog highlights this week – Check the WSDOT Federal Issues blog for recent items on the proposed jobs bill, the ongoing debate over operating funds for transit agencies, and a review of the Highway Trust Fund.

Highlight of the week

SR 503 paving project begins near Lake Merwin

Paving and safety work on a $2.5 million Recovery Act funded project began this week on SR 503 between Rock Creek Bridge and Frederickson Road (mileposts 35.5 to 46.0). Drivers traveling on SR 503 to the northern shore of Lake Merwin this summer should pack their patience as construction work could cause delays of up to 20 minutes. WSDOT’s contractor, Kerr Contractors, Inc. of Woodburn, Ore., began mobilizing equipment in May, and drivers will begin to see traffic impacts Monday, June 14.

This section of SR 503 carries an average of 16,000 vehicles a day. Paving and upgrading guardrail and road markings will preserve the road’s surface, reduce maintenance costs, and improve safety and mobility for all drivers.

Contractor crews will close one lane of SR 503 at a time to grind pavement, resurface the roadway, and retrofit and install new guardrail. Pilot cars and flaggers will direct traffic in alternating directions through the work zones throughout the project, which is expected to be complete in September. Crews will focus on guardrail upgrades in the initial phase of construction, and begin paving work in July.

This project is funded through state funds and received $2.3 million in Recovery Act funds earlier this year. The contract was awarded to Kerr Contractors, Inc. on April 16.


Important dates

June 20: Next report due to T & I Committee
July 14: Next performance report due to Office of Management and Budget
July 16: TIGER II pre-application deadline 
August 11: Transit application deadline for TIGGER grants 
August 23: Final TIGER II application deadline
September 30: Deadline for obligating Recovery Act highway funds

Websites of interest

WSDOT ARRA website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/funding/stimulus
WSDOT Federal Transportation Issues blog: http://wsdotfederalfunding.blogspot.com
Washington recovery website: http://www.recovery.wa.gov/
Federal recovery website: http://www.recovery.gov/
FHWA recovery website: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/economicrecovery/index.htm
Federal Transit Administration recovery website: www.fta.dot.gov/recovery
Federal Rail Administration recovery website: http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/2153
Federal Aviation Administration recovery website: http://www.faa.gov/recovery
OMB recovery website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/recovery_default/

This week by the numbers (project dollars in millions)