The present invention is directed to a method of fabricating a local interconnect. A disclosed method involves forming two separate cavities in the ILD above two electrical contacts of a transistor. A first cavity extend down to an underlying etch stop layer. The first cavity is then filled with a protective layer. The second cavity is then formed adjacent to the first cavity and extends down to expose the underlying etch stop layer. The protective layer is removed to form an expanded cavity including the first and second cavities which expose the underlying etch stop layer in the expanded cavity. The etch stop material in the expanded cavity is also removed to expose an underlying gate contact and expose one of a source or drain contact. The gate contact is then electrically connected with one of the exposed source or drain contacts to form a local interconnect.