Date:  Friday, May 28, 2010

Contact: Jeff Switzer, SR 520 Communications, 206-770-3547, 206-819-7230 (cell)
Suanne Pelley, SR 520 Communications, 206-770-3578, 206-437-5717 (cell)

Comments sought on the report; open house and hearing in Grays Harbor June 24

SEATTLE – The Washington State Department of Transportation today released an environmental analysis for the State Route 520 Pontoon Construction Project, launching a 45-day public comment period.

The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Pontoon Construction Project analyzes a proposed casting facility in Grays Harbor and construction of 33 concrete pontoons that could be used for emergency replacement of the SR 520 floating bridge. Two sites for a casting facility were analyzed in Grays Harbor County – the Anderson & Middleton site in Hoquiam and the Aberdeen Log Yard site in Aberdeen.

“Our environmental experts analyzed more than a dozen categories of potential impacts of building a pontoon casting facility in Grays Harbor, including how construction would affect the environment, traffic and noise,” SR 520 Program Director Julie Meredith said. “We look forward to receiving public comments on our analysis.”

There are several ways to review the draft EIS:

• View documents and comment online at the SR 520 pontoon construction website: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr520/pontoons/deis.
• Call the project office at 206-770-3500 or 1-888-520 NEWS (6397) to request a free executive summary and CD or to purchase a printed copy of the document.
• Visit local libraries in the Grays Harbor area. A full list of libraries is on our website.

To comment on the draft EIS:

• Attend a public hearing and open house from 5 – 7 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at Aberdeen High School, 410 North G St., Aberdeen.
• E-mail comments to sr520pontoons_deis@wsdot.wa.gov
• Mail comments to Margaret Kucharski, WSDOT Environmental Lead, 600 Stewart St., Suite 520, Seattle, WA 98101.

Comments will be accepted through July 12. The comment period is an opportunity for agencies, tribes and the public to review and comment prior to WSDOT making a final decision on project siting.

WSDOT named the Aberdeen Log Yard the preferred site for the Pontoon Construction Project in August 2009 because site development costs were lower and the location posed fewer below-ground construction and schedule challenges. Environmental review of both Grays Harbor sites will be included in a final EIS scheduled to be released later this year.

Construction of the casting facility could begin as soon as the end of 2010 once environmental review is complete and permits are obtained. WSDOT hired the design-build team of Kiewit-General for $367.3 million to build the casting facility and pontoons. Kiewit-General had the best combination of technical proposal score and bid price of three design-build teams that competed for the project.

If the pontoons constructed in Grays Harbor are not needed in an emergency, they will be stored and used as part of the proposed replacement SR 520 bridge, which is scheduled to open to traffic in 2014.

Visit the SR 520 program Web page for more information: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects.sr520bridge.

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