PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has awarded a $907,567 bid to a Port Angeles contractor to reconstruct a half-mile segment of Old Olympic Highway in Agnew.

The three commissioners awarded the bid to Jordan Excavating Inc. on Tuesday.

Old Olympic Highway will be widened from 28 feet to 40 feet between Barr-Gunn roads and the McDonald Creek bridge later this year.

The work is scheduled to begin in June and wrap up in October.

The 0.51-mile segment will get new asphalt, guardrails and irrigation lines. The widening will provide 12-foot lanes and 8-foot shoulders on both sides of the road.

Other segments of Old Olympic Highway have been widened to 40 feet in recent years as part of a safety improvement for the arterial between Port Angeles and Sequim.

The engineer’s estimate for the Barr-Gunn to McDonald Creek segment was $1.02 million.

The work is funded by a $990,000 grant from the state Rural Arterial Program.

When a bid comes in under a grant, the difference goes back to the state.

“We do not get to keep it in our bank account, so to speak,” County Engineer Ross Tyler told commissioners Tuesday.

Trees to be removed

To widen the road, the northern row of evergreen trees near the Agnew Soccer Fields, which are closest to the road, will be removed.

Assistant County Engineer Joe Donisi assured commissioners last month that the inner row of trees, which provide a wind barrier for the soccer fields, will be retained.

Jordan Excavating submitted the lowest of five bids that commissioners opened in a public meeting April 1.

Other bids were submitted by Nordland Construction of Nordland, Bruch & Bruch Construction of Port Angeles, Scarsella Brothers of Seattle and Nova Contracting of Olympia.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.