Olympia — Washington state will deliver more highway projects with federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds than first envisioned, because of the recent trend toward lower construction bids. As of June 1, the Washington State Department of Transportaiton has awarded 15 state stimulus contracts worth $64 million, averaging 21% below estimates. Between July 1, 2008, and April 30, 2009, WSDOT awarded 115 contracts, 100 of which came in an average of 29.5 % below cost estimates. These low bids reverse a trend from 2004 to 2008, when inflation in the cost of highway project construction caused cost escalations of