WSDOT awards Blaine roundabout project to contractor

BLAINE - The Washington State Department of Transportation is one step closer to building two new roundabouts at the I-5/D Street interchange in Blaine after awarding a $2.8 million contract to Interwest Construction, Inc. of Burlington. Construction will begin after the Winter Olympics in British Columbia are finished.

The safety and traffic-flow improvement project is fully funded by the federal government and will complement improvements the General Service Administration made at the I-5, Peace Arch border crossing.

Crews will build two single-lane roundabouts, one at each on-/off-ramp intersection, to improve traffic flow and safety at the interchange, and will make modifications to I-5 to help slow drivers down as they approach the border.

In order to speed up construction of the roundabouts and reduce impacts to drivers and local businesses, WSDOT and the city of Blaine have agreed to close D Street for 50 consecutive days at the I-5 interchange.During the closure, all businesses will remain open and detour routes will be provided to help drivers around the work.

"We want to get in, get them built, and get out as quickly as possible,"project engineer Chris Damitio said. "It's going to be inconvenient for some drivers and businesses no matter how we build it, but doing it this way should minimize the inconvenience."

For more project details, visit the Web page www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/blaineinterchange/.


Contact:  Dustin Terpening, Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
        Chris Damitio, Project Engineer, 360-788-7403 (Bellingham)


 

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