Date:  Monday, July 27, 2009

Contact: Meghan Pembroke, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)
Mike Westbay, WSDOT Communications, 509-577-1617 (Yakima)
Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
Jeff Adamson, WSDOT Communications, 509-667-2815 (Wenatchee)
Al Gilson, WSDOT Communications, 509-324-6015 (Spokane)

Stimulus-funded safety improvement work begins as early as August

OLYMPIA – WSDOT is moving forward with projects to improve safety on 33 highways across Washington. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided $12 million in funding for installing centerline rumble strips on 662 miles of state highways and for retrofitting nearly 30 miles of cable median barrier. Together, these projects will help support approximately 120 jobs during construction.

Centerline rumble strips help reduce crossover collisions
On July 20, WSDOT awarded Apply-A-Line, Inc. of Pacific the contract to install nearly 250 miles of centerline rumble strips on nine state routes in northwest Washington. This week WSDOT awarded North Star Enterprises 1, Inc. of Liberty Lake the contract to install 214 miles of centerline rumble strips on nine routes in eastern Washington.

Centerline rumble strips are a proven low-cost method of dramatically reducing crossover collisions by alerting inattentive drivers that they are crossing into oncoming traffic. For more details and maps of the centerline rumble strip locations, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/rumblestrips.

A third contract, for 198 miles of rumble strips in southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula, will be re-advertised to contractors this fall. Apply-A-Line, Inc. was the sole bidder on both the northwest and southwest Washington contracts. Per the contract specifications, the contractor asked to be awarded only one of the contracts. WSDOT now plans to schedule construction on the southwest Washington contract for summer 2010.

Cable barrier provides protection against cross-median collisions
On July 20, WSDOT awarded Dirt and Aggregate Interchange, Inc. of Fairview, Ore. the contract to retrofit more than seven miles of cable barrier on I-5, I-90 and SR 18 in northwest Washington. This week WSDOT awarded Coral Construction Company of Sherwood, Ore. the contract to retrofit nearly 15 miles of cable barrier on I-5 in southwest Washington. Frank Gurney, Inc of Spokane Valley was awarded the contract to retrofit more than seven miles of cable barrier on I-90 in eastern Washington.

The low bids for each of the cable barrier contracts were 10 to 35 percent below WSDOT’s construction estimates, following a national industry trend toward lower construction bids. WSDOT will apply the cost savings to additional cable barrier retrofit projects that the Governor and Legislature authorized to receive ARRA funding.

Cable median barrier helps prevent vehicles from crossing the median and potentially causing deadly head-on collisions. Crews will replace existing sections of low-tension cable barrier with high-tension cable barrier, which is easier to maintain and provides increased tension to keep the cable taut even if some of the posts are knocked down. This increases the likelihood that the barrier will continue to offer some protection until repairs can be made. For more details and maps of the cable median barrier retrofit locations, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/cablebarrierretrofit.

Crews could begin work on all five contracts as early as August and expect to wrap up by December 2009.

Washington state is administering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Gov. Gregoire created a Web site, http://www.recovery.wa.gov/, so every Washingtonian can see where tax dollars are going and hold government accountable for the results. On the federal level, President Obama has appointed Vice President Biden to oversee all states’ recovery efforts and to root out waste and fraud. This combined oversight will ensure taxpayer dollars are put to good use and recharge the economy.

                               ###

< Go Back