Traffic flows both ways on I-195 on the eastern side of the Washington Bridge on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 1:43 p.m. The demolition work on the western side has resumed. (Rhode Island Department of Transportation Traffic Camera)
State officials expect to award a contract to rebuild the I-195 westbound Washington Bridge by June 2025 — nearly a year later than the twice-revised timeline called for.
The new procurement process unveiled at a State House press briefing Tuesday morning comes on the heels of a prior attempt to find a demolition contractor, which drew no bids. The revised solicitation begins with a request for companies to prove their qualifications — no design plans or cost estimates required. Only after the initial request for qualifications, issued Tuesday morning, closes in late November, will the state ask the top two companies for detailed proposals on how they plan to rebuild the highway, and at what cost and speed.
“We’re not asking a dozen vendors to spend months creating costly proposals that may not be selected in the end,” Gov. Dan McKee said. “That time and effort can deter bidders.”
Time is not on the state’s side. An initial timeline unveiled in March promised demolition work beginning in July 2024, with a new westbound span rebuilt and open in August 2026 — just ahead of the gubernatorial primary.
That schedule was abandoned by July, with officials refusing to declare a target opening date after the demolition solicitation drew no bidders.
Yet McKee maintains he is confident in the state’s oversight of the demolition and rebuild, despite repeated missteps since the westbound span was deemed structurally unsound and abruptly shut down in December 2023.
“Right now, based on what I know today, I think we’re heading in the right direction,” McKee said. “We haven’t actually lost time, but I can’t disagree that it could have been smoother.”
Smoother not only on the technical side, but in communication with the public.
Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, Jr. speaks at the podium while Gov. Dan McKee, stands at right during a press briefing on the demolition of the westbound Washington Bridge and the search for a contractor to replace the span at the State House on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
‘We need to do a better job communicating’
Both McKee and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. admitted the legitimacy of public critique over a virtual community meeting held Friday, Oct. 11.
The meeting on a Friday night of a holiday weekend and the start of the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur was planned in anticipation of resumed demolition work this week. But it amounted to a nine-minute presentation, with no opportunity for public questions to be answered in real time. Residents and officials, including McKee, criticized the format for lack of transparency — a frequent refrain in the state’s handling of the infrastructure crisis.
“I publicly admit we need to do a better job communicating what is actually going on,” McKee said Tuesday. “Certainly, the amount of tone deafness we’re certainly recognizing and going to take care of that.”
To that end, RIDOT is holding a second virtual meeting, with McKee and Alviti on the call, on Thursday, with the promise of community interaction.
Demolition of the existing bridge superstructure, which was paused in mid-September to preserve evidence as part of the state’s lawsuit against former contractors, resumed Tuesday. However, nighttime work, including jackhammering, will not resume until Sunday, Oct. 19, after the second community meeting.
Change order: Substructure to be demolished too
Demolition of the existing westbound bridge began in September, prompting noise complaints and pollution concerns by residents in the area. The original, nearly $50 million contract awarded to Aetna Bridge Co. in June covered only the bridge superstructure. However, the Warwick-based firm is now being tasked with demolishing the piers and beams below the bridge, requiring a change to its existing contract.
The change order detailing the cost and nature of the substructure demolition has not been finalized, but is expected to be executed in the next day or two, Alviti said.
Originally, state officials planned to let the company building the replacement span decide whether to preserve the underside of the bridge, or get rid of it and start from scratch. However, feedback from experts suggested prospective bidders didn’t want to take on the risks of building on top of the 50-year-old pilings and beams in uncertain condition, McKee said.
I publicly admit we need to do a better job communicating what is actually going on.
– Gov. Dan McKee
The state has declined to publicly share the expert feedback, citing the ongoing procurement.
Adding the substructure demolition to Aetna’s duties extends the length of its contract. Initially, Aetna said it could finish demolishing the superstructure by March 2025, but the additional work to tear down the beams and pilings underneath the bridge extends completion to December 2025, officials said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the request for qualifications on the bridge demolition will close Nov. 26, with the top two finalists chosen by Dec. 11. A contract is expected to be awarded June 6, 2025, with work beginning July 15, 2025.
Despite the 11-month delay between when the state first expected to award a demolition contract, and its new award timeline, McKee said the construction won’t face significant setbacks.
“We’re actually on schedule,” he said. “We haven’t lost time when you look at demolition ending in 2025. We will have someone in place in June to be able to start doing setup work.”
As for the initial, target 2026 reopening date? McKee and Alviti declined to say whether that’s still realistic.
At what price?
Also murky is the total price tag for the bridge demolition and reconstruction, which has already risen substantially. Estimates last May pegged the reconstruction at $368 million — on top of nearly $60 million for the demolition and associated costs. But that doesn’t include the expenses to demolish the substructure, which previously could have been left intact, or the incentive payments to companies that bid on the demolition work.
The initial request for qualifications does not offer companies any money to submit their credentials. However, to incentivize the top two finalists to go through the rigor and expense of detailed design plans and work schedules, the state is offering $1.75 million to whichever company does not win the bid. The prior, failed solicitation would have given $500,000 apiece to any company that submitted a proposal but did not win the contract.
Alviti said the incentive payment was standard practice, used by the state in prior transportation projects as well as the Federal Highway Administration, which is kicking in money for the project.
The state was awarded a $125 million federal grant in September toward the bridge project — $100 million short of what it wanted. The state economic development arm has separately authorized borrowing up to $140 million against future transportation funding, while the state fiscal 2025 budget allotted $80 million toward the project.
McKee said Tuesday he was confident the state would have the funding in place needed to cover the cost, even though he did not know what the total price would be.
Deferring to lawyers
Separately, the state, led by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, is suing 13 contractors, including Aetna, involved in bridge maintenance and inspections over the last decade. The lawsuit filed in August alleges a sweeping set of contract breaches and negligence on the part of contractors who failed to detect or report structural problems, potentially worsening existing conditions before they were finally detected in December.
McKee and Alviti referred questions about the lawsuit to the attorney general’s office, which did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment Tuesday morning. No substantial documents have been submitted to the court since the complaint was issued in August, according to online court records.
McKee and Alviti both repeatedly denied taking action against any state employees for alleged wrongdoing or negligence in bridge oversight and maintenance.
The next virtual public meeting on the bridge demolition is scheduled Thursday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. Participants are encouraged to register beforehand online.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.