Date:  Thursday, February 03, 2011

Contact: Hien Trinh, Project Engineer, 206-262-5429
Steve Peer, WSDOT Communications, 425-456-8624

KIRKLAND – Gary Merlino Construction Company of Seattle has submitted the apparent winning bid of $10.7 million for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) I-405, NE 116th St Interchange and Street Improvement Project. WSDOT selected Merlino over ten firms that qualified to bid for the job.


"We were pleased that this bid came in lower than our own estimate” said Kim Henry, I-405/SR 167 Corridor Program Director. “Not only was the price right, but Gary Merlino Construction is a quality contractor that has a history of completing jobs on time and on budget."

WSDOT and Merlino expect to sign the contract in the next few weeks, and motorists can expect construction to begin this spring.
This project improves traffic flow around the busy 116th Street interchange in Kirkland, especially west of the freeway where traffic back-ups are notorious during the morning and evening commutes. In addition to adding lanes to NE 116th Street near I-405, this project will:

• reconstruct the off-ramp from northbound I-405 and the on-ramp to southbound I-405 at NE 116th Street from a traditional interchange configuration to more efficient single-point urban interchange;
• rebuild the structure over the port-owned BNSF rail line;
• build a sidewalk for pedestrians and a bike lane in each direction of NE 116th Street under I-405;
• improve traffic signals at the NE 116th Street and 120th Avenue NE intersections.

For more information, including a diagram of the improvements on the NE 116th St Interchange and Street Improvement Project, please visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I405/NE116thInterchange.

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