Baker Receives $4 Million Design Management Contract.

Business Editors

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2000

Michael Baker Jr., Inc., has received a contract valued at $4 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to provide design management services and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) design for the new nine-mile U.S. Route 202, Section 700 Bypass, in Montgomery and Bucks Counties. Michael Baker Jr., Inc., is a subsidiary of Michael Baker Corporation (AMEX:BKR).

The U.S. Route 202, Section 700 Bypass, will be a four-lane divided limited-access highway connecting Montgomeryville in Montgomery County to Doylestown in Bucks County. The majority of the project will traverse through Montgomery, Warrington and Doylestown Townships and will include major interchanges with Welsh Road (SR 63), Bethlehem Pike (SR 309), County Line Road and Bristol Road. Baker's design management team in its Horsham office will oversee the design and coordination of three separate final design contracts. Under this contract, Baker will act as an extension of PennDOT's staff in conducting various project meetings, extensive public involvement activities, environmental monitoring and re-evaluation as well as structural and geotechnical design review of over 30 structures. The contract also includes the preliminary and final design of congestion management strategies such as park-n-ride lots, incident management plans, emergency detour plans and corridor-wide ITS components.

Eric Frary, Baker's project manager, said, "Completion of this leg of U.S. Route 202 is critical for the flow of traffic throughout the area. This project is an effort on PennDOT's part to maintain a smooth and coordinated design phase so that construction will begin on schedule."

Michael Baker Corporation (www.mbakercorp.com) provides engineering and energy expertise for public and private sector clients worldwide. The firm's primary services include facilities design, engineering design for the transportation and civil infrastructure markets, operation and maintenance of oil and gas production facilities, and construction management for building and highway projects. Baker employs more than 3,200 in over 30 offices across the United States and internationally.