The Washington state Department of Transportation has awarded contracts for a combined $3.7 million worth of work to begin in the spring here.

The projects include work on road improvements to U.S. 195 between Interstate 90 and Hatch Road, installation of traffic cameras along I-90 between Sullivan Road and the Washington-Idaho border, and the addition of a right-turn lane on U.S. 2 at Elk-Chattaroy Road.

Acme Concrete Paving Inc., of Spokane, has won a $2.4 million contract to improve 4.5 miles of U.S. 195 in southwest Spokane between I-90 and Hatch, says DOT spokesman Al Gilson.

The work, which is expected to begin in April and will take more than two months to complete, will include replacing broken concrete road panels, adding dowel bars between the concrete panels, and sealing cracks and joints along that route.

Separately, Colvico Inc., of Spokane, has been awarded a $913,000 WSDOT contract to install a fiber-optics link and traffic cameras along I-90 here.

The work includes installing cameras at four I-90 interchanges and upgrading two others, at Barker Road, Appleway, Liberty Lake, and in the vicinity of Knox Road, and near the Washington-Idaho border.

The project also includes installing a variable message sign near the I-90-Liberty Lake interchange for westbound traffic. Colvico's project is expected to begin later, but a date hasn't been set, and will take about 120 working days, Gilson says.

Meanwhile, Inland Asphalt Co., of Spokane Valley, has won a $379,000 contract to construct a right-turn lane on the northbound side of U.S. 2 at its intersection with Elk-Chattaroy Road, north of Spokane.

Gilson says a start date for that work hasn't been set yet, but that project is expected to take about 20 working days to complete.