Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, Jr., right, provides an update on the new request for proposals to rebuild the westbound Washington Bridge at a State House press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. To his left is Gov. Dan McKee. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
A week after two design-build firms made the state’s shortlist to rebuild the westbound Washington Bridge, the pair of finalists under consideration by Gov. Dan McKee’s administration can officially start working on their bids — and offering the state feedback.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) on Wednesday issued an “initial” request for proposals (RFP) to replace the section of Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River closed last December after engineers discovered broken anchor rods that put the highway at risk of collapse. A final RFP that takes into account questions and comments from the two finalists will be issued in late January.
McKee and RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. discussed the new round of bidding — the second attempt to put the bridge rebuild contract out to bid — at a State House press conference.
“It has been a difficult year for everyone who relies on or travels on that side of the bridge,” McKee said. “I want Rhode Island to have a new bridge, and we want to make sure it’s done as safely as possible — and I believe that we are now headed in the right direction.”
The initial RFP is actually not the first. McKee’s administration first tried to find a bridge builder last spring but drew comments but zero bids before the period to submit proposals closed in July — a process the governor acknowledged in retrospect was too aggressive. One potential bidder on RIDOT’s bid portal questioned the feasibility of rebuilding the bridge by the state’s initial August 2026 deadline. Feedback from experts also suggested prospective contractors didn’t want to take on the risks of building on top of the 50-year-old pilings and beams in uncertain condition.The pilings and beams are being removed by Warwick-based Aetna Bridge Co. as part of its $100 million demolition contract.
“No one likes to go back to the drawing board — I would tell you, though, I am glad we started this process,” McKee told reporters Wednesday. “With this timeline, we gained valuable insight from bridge experts and we were able to locate four responsible contractors that could build a bridge, and narrowed it down to two.”
The two finalists vying for the state’s contract: Chicago-based Walsh Construction Company and a joint partnership between American Bridge Co. and MLJ Contracting Corporation, which are based respectively in Pennsylvania and New York. The pair of finalists will have a chance to provide recommendations to RIDOT, which will issue its finalized request proposals on Jan. 24.
State officials went back to the drawing board to assemble a request for information meant to shape this latest bidding process.
“And it worked,” Alviti told reporters.
Lower penalties for missing deadlines
Much of the scope remains the same as the first round: the state wants five lanes of travel over the new bridge, along with an onramp from Gano Street in Providence and a new offramp to Waterfront Drive in East Providence.
RIDOT is also offering up to $10 million in incentives — based on per day rates ranging between $5,000 to $70,000 — to open those new lanes ahead of a schedule Alviti had previously said will be determined through this latest bidding process.
So what’s different?
Penalties for missing deadlines will now be $25,000 per day — $5,000 less than what the state planned to impose under the first round of bids.
RIDOT also plans to provide more opportunities to meet with bidders to exchange ideas and concepts, Alviti said.
RIDOT expects to award a final contract by June 6, with a notice to proceed with work by July 15, 2025. Thata start date overlaps with the ongoing demolition of the Washington Bridge, which is scheduled to complete its work by the end of next year.
Alviti said much of the construction work done in the overlap period will include finalizing bridge designs, obtaining permits, and staging equipment.
“While there’s a six-month overlap between the completion — there are portions of the project that construction will be able to begin on the land base part of the bridge,” he said.
The losing finalist will receive $1.75 million to cover costs associated with bidding on the project. That is three and a half times the $500,000 offered under the previous request for proposals.
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