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The Oregon Department of Transportation on Thursday announced that Eugene-based Wildish Standard Paving received a contract to work on the $252 million first phase of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass project.

The $44.3 million contract is the third of four being awarded for the first phase, according to a news release from ODOT.

The Newberg-Dundee Bypass will be a controlled-access expressway. In the first phase crews are building a four-mile-long road, with one lane in each direction, from state Route 219 at Wilsonville Road to state Route 99W south of Dundee. The road is scheduled to open in 2017.

Wildish crews will construct two bridges on the bypass, a flyover bridge for Wynooski Street and a large bio-filtration pond, according to ODOT.

The first contract for the first phase went to LaDuke Construction of Drain and included construction of major embankments for the bridge approaches, installation of drainage systems and construction of one bridge.

The second contract was awarded to Springfield-based Hamilton Construction. Over the summer Hamilton crews started work on the west end of the bypass, which runs from Dundee to Chehalem Creek. Crews from Hamilton will also build signage, widen Route 99W to accommodate turn lanes on and off the bypass, construct new roadway alignment and build six bridges and three water quality ponds, according to ODOT.

ODOT split the first phase into four contracts in order to expedite the schedule while roadway segments were designed.

The last major contract of the first phase to rebuild Springbrook Road to connect Route 219 with Route 99 will be issued in spring 2015.