Date:  Wednesday, August 18, 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)

Project is $700 million to $900 million; contractors and consultants meeting is Aug. 25

SEATTLE –The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) launched its search this week for qualified teams to build a safer, more reliable State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington. The new six-lane floating bridge is fully funded and scheduled to open in 2014.

Design-build teams interested in the $700 million to $900 million project are invited to submit statements of qualification to WSDOT by Sept. 30.

“We want to hire the best design-build team to build a safer SR 520 floating bridge,” said Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “We expect to take advantage of a competitive bidding environment when we select a contractor early next year.”

The request for qualifications is available on the WSDOT website .

Contractors and consultants are invited to attend an informational meeting next week. WSDOT engineers will be available to answer questions about the bidding process and the project.

• When: 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25
• Where: University of Washington, Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Center, D-Wing, Room 209, 1075 N.E. Pacific St., Seattle

Design-build is a type of contract that combines project design and construction together into a single contract. A designer and contractor combine forces to submit a detailed design proposal with a fixed price.

WSDOT will issue a request for proposals for the project in October and allow qualified teams to submit proposals. Final proposals and bids for the project will be due in February 2011. WSDOT will choose the design-build team with the best apparent value based on their technical scores and bid price.

Construction of the floating bridge is scheduled to begin in 2012. The design-build contract for a new floating bridge will include:

• Building a new six-lane bridge with transit/HOV lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian path.
• A floating bridge connected to fixed bridges on both sides of Lake Washington.
• Construction of approximately 44 supplemental pontoons and 58 anchors.
• Use of 33 pontoons to be constructed beginning next year in Grays Harbor as part of a contract signed earlier this year with Kiewit-General Joint Venture.
• A new maintenance facility and dock on the east shore of Lake Washington.

The current floating bridge is vulnerable to windstorms, and support columns do not meet earthquake standards. Stormwater from the bridge currently flows into Lake Washington untreated.

WSDOT began a thorough environmental analysis of the project in 2000. The draft and supplemental environmental analyses published in 2006 and 2010 show that, when completed from I-5 to Medina, the floating bridge project will improve travel times and reliability in the corridor. The new SR 520 will also meet current design and safety standards. The environmental review of the I-5 to Medina Bridge Replacement and HOV Project , which includes the floating bridge project, is scheduled to be complete in 2011.

WSDOT also is scheduled to hire a design-build team for the SR 520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project by the end of this year, and construction scheduled to begin in early 2011.

The Legislature set the SR 520 program budget at $4.65 billion for improvements from I-5 in Seattle to SR 202 in Redmond. Toll revenue and state and federal funds provide about $2.37 billion for the SR 520 improvements. WSDOT will continue working with the state Legislature to identify additional funding for other improvements in the corridor.

More information about the SR 520 Program and the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and Landings Project is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr520bridge.

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