The state will pay its demolition contractor another $38.4 million to demolish the piers and beams underneath the I-195 westbound Washington Bridge, according to an agreement inked Wednesday and obtained by Rhode Island Current Friday.
The amendment to the existing contract with Aetna Bridge Co. marks an 84% increase over the existing, $45.8 million deal, which only covered the demolition of the superstructure — not the piers, beams and footings beneath it. Adding in another $10 million in demolition-related costs not included in the contract, the first phase of the project now totals more than $96 million.
State officials originally planned to keep the substructure beneath the thoroughfare intact for potential reuse in the replacement bridge. However, expert companies brought in to consult on the rebuild plan all said the aging substructure posed too big a risk — and expense — for a contractor to want to preserve.
Gov. Dan McKee and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti first revealed plans at a press conference Tuesday for the change order with Aetna, expanding its scope of work to include the substructure demolition. The actual agreement was not publicly available at the time.
Aetna, based in Warwick, was awarded the initial demolition contract through a competitive solicitation that closed in June. The state opted not to go back out to bid for the substructure demolition, instead asking Aetna to offer a range of cost estimates to complete the work at various schedules and using different demolition tools. Estimates ranged from $30 million to $51.9 million, with completion dates between Nov. 30, 2025 and Jan. 30, 2026.
The middle-of-the-road option selected by the state comes with a Dec. 15 completion date — nine months later than the end date if Aetna was only in charge of tearing down the main bridge thoroughfare.
In accordance with the typical 80-20 split between federal and state cost shares for infrastructure projects, Rhode Island will be responsible for paying $7.7 million of the extra $38.4 million price tag, with federal grant funding covering the remaining share.
That doesn’t account for the price to build a new replacement, which state officials said won’t be determined until they award a bid for the rebuild. The state on Tuesday opened the first phase of two-part solicitation, which first seeks qualified companies and then later asks for concrete proposals from the top two respondents. The final rebuild contract is expected to be announced in June 2025.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.