Date:  Friday, May 08, 2009

Contact: Meghan Soptich, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
Dave Lindberg, WSDOT Project Engineer, 425-814-7104 (Redmond)

WSDOT will deliver more Washington Jobs Now projects thanks to low bids on ARRA projects

MONROE – Governor Chris Gregoire and the Washington State Department of Transportation announced that Lakeside Industries, Inc. of Monroe this week was awarded the contract to repave US 2 between Monroe and Sultan after submitting the low bid of $1.4 million, 36 percent below WSDOT’s construction estimate.

The project is completely funded from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The low bid follows a national industry trend toward lower construction bids. Between July 1, 2008 and April 30, 2009, WSDOT awarded 115 contracts, 100 of which came in a combined 29.5 percent below cost estimates. As of May 8, WSDOT has awarded six state stimulus projects worth $16.8 million, more than 23 percent below estimates.

“Washington contractors have once again found innovative ways to help us deliver projects funded with federal stimulus funds. Their competitive bids enable us to use the savings to build more projects with the federal ARRA funds,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “WSDOT will soon begin applying savings toward the nearly $83 million in additional state highway projects throughout Washington that the Governor and Legislature authorized to receive ARRA funding.”

The initial second tier project to get started with bid savings will be a $5 million paving project on I-90 near Moses Lake later this summer.

WSDOT and the contractor expect to begin work on the US 2 paving project the first week of June. Crews will repave approximately 10 lane miles of US 2 between the eastern city limit of Monroe and the western city limit of Sultan. The project replaces the new lane striping and new centerline and shoulder rumble strips that were installed last summer as part of a safety improvement project on US 2 between Monroe and Stevens Pass.

WSDOT will complete the US 2 paving project by fall 2009. For more information, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us2/monroepaving/.

More information about WSDOT’s delivery of ARRA projects is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/funding/stimulus. 

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