Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane, has landed a $1.7 million contract to refurbish four residence halls on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.

The project will spruce up all of the dorm rooms in the 13-story, 73,300-square-foot Stephenson North tower and the 85,000-square-foot, three-building McEachern Residence Center, says Norm Poser, Lydig's project manager. Stephenson North has 186 rooms, and the McEachern complex has 296 rooms.

Work will include refinishing wood surfaces, painting walls and ceilings, installing carpet tile, and concealing exposed telephone wiring, Poser says. At the McEachern center, semiprivate baths, each of which are connected to two dorm rooms, also will be refurbished.

The project will start on May 11 after the conclusion of the spring semester, and it's scheduled to be completed by Aug. 8, in time for students to occupy the residence halls at the start of the fall semester, Poser says.

Stephenson North is part of a four-building complex just south of Stadium Way at the southwest edge of campus. The McEachern center is on the north side of Olympia Avenue, a few blocks east of the Stephenson complex.

Poser says Lydig made similar improvements last summer at the Stephenson East and Stephenson South towers.