PROVIDENCE – The job to rebuild the westbound side of the Washington Bridge is drawing little interest.
R.I. Department of Transportation spokesperson Charles St. Martin confirmed Wednesday to Providence Business News that the state did not receive any bids by the noon deadline for the $300 million-plus project to replace the bridge’s westbound side.
This is a significant development that comes a week after the state, pending final approval, awarded Aetna Bridge Co. a $45.8 million contract to demolish the westbound side of the bridge and could potentially put the 2026 completion timeline in flux.
The abrupt closure of the bridge’s westbound side, which connects Interstate 195 from Rhode Island’s East Bay to Providence, has disrupted traffic and businesses in the six months since. In March, the state announced that the westbound side needed to be replaced, with Gov. Daniel J. McKee proclaiming that a “day of reckoning” will come to hold those responsible for allowing the bridge to deteriorate to the point of near failure.
That “day of reckoning” has not yet arrived.
All lanes of traffic have been shifted to the bridge’s eastbound side.
In an emailed statement to PBN, St. Martin said the state purposely chose an aggressive project timeline with corresponding incentives and disincentives with the goal of completing the bridge rebuild as quickly as possible.
"While [being expeditious] ... is still the goal, especially given the state’s initial request for proposals did not produce a response, RIDOT will now review and potentially adjust factors affecting contractor participation to the RFP before rebidding the project," St. Martin said in his statement.
St. Martin said the top priority will be to issue a new RFP “as soon as we complete an analysis of the factors affecting contractors.” He did not answer if the state still hopes to finish construction on the new bridge by 2026.
On May 5, RIDOT launched the search for construction firms to tear down and rebuild the westbound side of the bridge, with a total of $13 million in incentives to expedite the work.
According to the state’s RFP, which was issued in April, requirements for the project included carrying five through-lanes over the bridge and constructing a new on-ramp to I-195 West from Gano Street and an off-ramp from I-195 West to Waterfront Drive. The project also includes paving, repair and replacement of drainage structures, and removal of the crossover traffic pattern as lanes are built and opened on the new bridge.
The state said at the time that the RFP provides incentives up to a maximum of $10 million based on per-day rates – ranging from $5,000 per day to $70,000 per day – for opening lanes to traffic in advance of the substantial completion date of August 2026.
“The more lanes opened for both eastbound and westbound traffic, the higher per-day rate the selected design-build team can earn. RIDOT will include disincentives of $30,000 per day for exceeding the completion date,” state officials said.
On June 28, Aetna Bridge Co. was awarded a $45.8 million contract by the state to demolish the westbound side of the bridge.
According to an R.I. Department of Transportation memo obtained by Providence Business News, Aetna Bridge would have demolition of the bridge’s westbound side completed by Jan. 29, 2025 – 50 days ahead of the March 20, 2025, target date set by the state for demolition to be finished.
Manafort Brothers Inc. of Cumberland bid $43.8 million for the demolition contract. The company's proposal would have the demolition finished by March 7, 2025, the memo states, although items the state identified in Manafort’s proposal “decrease the probability of the team being able to achieve that date.”
(UPDATE replaces ninth paragraph with additional comment from Charles St. Martin.)
Maybe you “complete an analysis of the factors affecting contractors.” before you send out the original RFP like every other state in this country does? But no, they had to bid McKee’s ridiculous schedule that aligned completion with the RI Democratic primary. That schedule is impossible and everyone in the industry knew it. This is on McKee, not Alviti.