RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Erin Gregg 757-925-2584

HRO-0304 Jan. 16, 2003

$45.3 million awarded in roadway improvements including long-awaited Route 17 expansion

The Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded the contract for the long-awaited Route 17 expansion from Chesapeake to the North Carolina state line today. (See accompanying release.) The board also awarded three additional contracts for projects in Hampton Roads:

· The Peninsula region will benefit from a $3.1 million maintenance contract for concrete pavement repair at various locations on Interstate 64 east and westbound. The project length is about 16 miles from Hampton Roads Center Parkway to the Route 199 interchange. Crews will cut out bad sections of concrete and replace them with new concrete in York County, Hampton and Newport News. The work will take place at multiple locations, not in one continuous stretch, and includes some shoulder improvements. Denton Concrete Services Company of Saint Clair Shores, Michigan will perform the work, which is scheduled during overnight hours and should be complete in late 2004.

· Pruden Road in Isle of Wight County, a rural gravel road, will be paved and improved as a result of board action today. Shoulders, ditches and drainage pipes will be added and the roadway will be leveled in areas. The contract for $802,839 was awarded to Bishop & Settle Construction Company, Inc. of Alberta. Work is scheduled to finish in the fall of 2003.

· A $387,948 maintenance contract was awarded today for treatment to roadway surfaces throughout the region. The treatment, called asphalt slurry seal, will preserve the pavement, seal cracks, help the roadway last longer, and prevent damage. The contract was awarded to Slurry Pavers, Inc. of Glen Allen.

The 17-member board meets the third Thursday of each month and is responsible for locating routes, approving construction contracts, creating traffic regulations, naming highways and administering and the Transportation Trust Fund.

###