Washington Group-Led Joint Venture Wins $600.4 Million Contract to Design and Build Six-Mile-Long Light Rail Extension in Los Angeles.

BOISE, Idaho -- Washington Group International (Nasdaq:WGII) announced today that a company-led joint venture has been awarded a $600.4 million contract to design and build a six-mile-long extension to the Metro Gold Line light rail system in Los Angeles.

The contract was awarded by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to Eastside LRT Constructors, a joint venture of Washington Group (sponsor and 50 percent participant), Obayashi Inc. (35 percent), and Shimmick Construction Co. (15 percent). Construction will begin in early August and the project is scheduled for completion in 2009.

The new line -- named the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension -- will run from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Pomona Boulevard.

"We are honored to be playing another important role in bringing the advantages of light rail transit to Southern California commuters," said Stephen G. Hanks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Washington Group. "Our experience in building trackwork, stations, and maintenance facilities for the MTA dates back to the late 1980s, and we have assembled an outstanding team to meet the requirements of this new design-build contract."

Hanks said Washington Group was part of a joint-venture team that recently completed a design-build contract for a 13.7-mile-long segment of the Gold Line that runs from Union Station to Pasadena.

Some four miles of the dual-line Eastside Extension will be constructed at ground level or on bridges or other structures and almost two miles in 21-foot-diameter twin tunnels. The project also includes two underground stations, six aboveground stations, and installation of the overhead catenary system, along with considerable excavation, and signaling and communications systems.

Washington Group has been involved in construction of light-rail facilities in Los Angeles since 1988 when the Blue Line was constructed to connect Los Angeles with Long Beach. The company constructed the line's main yard and shops, and five bridges.

Later, Washington Group constructed 13 stations along the Blue Line and performed finishing work on the Pershing Square and Civic Center underground stations. The company also constructed trackwork on the Green Line.

In San Diego, Washington Group serves as construction manager of the Mission Valley East Project, a 5.8-mile-long addition to the Metropolitan Transit System's (MTS) San Diego Trolley network.

Washington Group International, Inc. provides the talent, innovation, and proven performance to deliver integrated engineering, construction, and management solutions for businesses and governments worldwide.

With approximately 27,000 employees at work in over 40 states and more than 30 countries, the company provides professional, scientific, management, and development services in more than two dozen major markets.

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