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One of worst commutes’: German-Italian JV to unclog Bellevue, Washington

A joint venture of German and Italian construction giants, through their US subsidiaries, will start work on a $705m contract to widen a highway and install a dual express toll system along one of the most congested corridors of the US state of Washington, in the city of Bellevue, near Seattle.

Receiving their Notice to Proceed last week from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) were Flatiron West, a subsidiary of Germany’s Hochtief, and Lane, part of Salini Impregilo of Italy.

Announcing the notice, Salini Impregilo said the US was now its single biggest market by revenue, generating 22% of earnings as of June 2019, compared to just 3% in 2014. 

The Italian builder said the growth matches the aims of its "Progetto Italia" ("Project Italy"), Salini Impregilo’s plan to consolidate the Italian infrastructure sector by acquiring crisis-hit competitors in order to compete better in international markets.

In Bellevue, the JV, 60% owned by Hochtief’s Flatiron West, will widen lanes and install a dual express toll lane system between State Route 167 in Renton and NE 6th Street. The new road is expected to open to traffic by the end of 2024, with construction starting in early 2020.

WSDOT calls the stretch of road "one of the state’s worst commutes".

Boosting Salini Impregilo’s revenues are Lane’s road contracts worth nearly a billion dollars in North Carolina, $404m in California, and $253m in Florida.

Photograph courtesy of Flatiron/WSDOT

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