Date:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Contact:
Dave Crisman, Project Engineer, 360-428-1593 (Mount Vernon)
Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
BELLINGHAM – WSDOT awarded a $3.2 million contract this week to Wilder Construction Co. to make critical repairs to Interstate 5 through Bellingham.
At $400,000 less than the state engineers' estimate, Bellingham-based Wilder's bid was the lowest qualified bid from a field of three.
WSDOT first advertised the project last summer but received only one bid that was $1 million over the state's estimate, exceeding the money available for the project. Engineers decided to delay the project about six months and advertise it again after summer construction slowed down, increasing competition and driving down prices, said Dave Crisman, a WSDOT project engineer.
"By the time we were able to put our previous advertisement out, contractors had most of their work lined up for the season, so we didn't get good prices," he said. "In the long run, the extra time allowed us to improve our plans, and the contractor's estimate and our estimate were pretty close."
This summer, crews will repair more than 200 broken concrete panels from Samish Way to Sunset Drive, smooth rough transitions on and off bridges, and pave several on- and off-ramps.
In addition to providing a smoother ride for drivers, these repairs will improve safety and extend the life of this nearly 60-year-old section of freeway for the 80,000 vehicles who use it daily.
As early as mid-March, drivers can expect crews to close lanes while they repair 3.2 miles of I-5 in Bellingham, and another quarter-mile section north of Slater Road. Work on the main freeway should wrap up in May. Crews will return in July or August, when the weather is warm and dry, to work on ramps for about a week. Most of the work will be at night when there are fewer cars on the road, but some work will require up to four weekend-long lane closures.
Problems are the result of years of wear and tear. Sections of I-5 have settled where they meet the bridges because underlying supports have broken. As cars drive over the uneven connections, the surface cracks further, compounding the problem and creating a jarring ride for drivers. Safety improvements include repairing these cracks and separations, painting new lane markers on the highway, and replacing some stretches of old guardrail to bring them up to modern safety standards.
"Basically, the road surface is just chipping and coming apart," Crisman said. "The longer we wait, the more piecemeal repairs we have to do, creating a greater inconvenience to the traveling public."
Assistant project engineer Mark Hammer said that this project will only improve the worst areas: "This work won't make the freeway pristine. This is getting to the worst of the worst."
More information about the project: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/36thStToSlaterRdRepairs.
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