W.Va. Awards First Design-Build Road Contract

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

West Virginia has awarded its first highway contract that combines engineering services and construction in one package.

“The design-build delivery method has been more prevalent in private sector work but is gaining more acceptance among public sector transportation agencies,” Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox said Thursday.

“This is the first design-build project the Division of Highways has awarded, and combining what would normally be two contracts into one will help us continue progress on a route this administration has made a priority.”

The $73.8 million contract was awarded to Kokosing Construction Co. Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, for construction of a 6.28-mile stretch of U.S. Route 35 in Putnam County. Work is scheduled to begin in May and be completed by April 2009.

Gov. Joe Manchin said the contract is being financed with Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles bonds.

Such bonds are issued and sold based on estimates of future federal transportation funding, allowing states to begin work on projects that they anticipate will receive funding.

Manchin said the so-called GARVEE bonds have allowed the state to accelerate work on upgrading U.S. 35 from two lanes to four lanes.

The highway is used heavily by tractor trailers traveling between Ohio and West Virginia and has been the site of numerous accidents.

Between January 1999 and December 2005, 27 people died and 213 people were injured in 763 wrecks between Point Pleasant and Winfield, according to the state Division of Highways.

Ohio has already upgraded its section of the route to four lanes.

(c) 2007 Charleston Daily Mail. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.