And now we know what a catastrophe looks like.
The deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, which left six people dead, showed the worst case scenario that Rhode Island officials said could have happened to the western Washington Bridge had it not been abruptly shut down last December. Broken anchor rods put the circa 1968 Washington Bridge crossed by 96,000 vehicles a day at risk of collapsing into the Seekonk River.
President Joe Biden was quick to pledge that the federal government should cover the entire cost of the Baltimore bridge’s rebuild. Federal officials, meanwhile, have made no such commitments to funding the demolition and construction of a new bridge in Providence — a process expected to last through 2026 and cost between $250 million to $300 million.
But experts and state leaders say the federal government’s prioritization of Baltimore’s bridge doesn’t mean the Ocean State is going to miss its share of funds for its replacement project.
“These are two separate events, obviously,” said Rich Luchette, a political strategist and former spokesman for former U.S. Rep. David Cicilline. “Baltimore was a really unique, catastrophic event outside anyone else’s control.”
“In Rhode Island, there were deficiencies identified and now they’re going through the process to get the funding needed to make those repairs.”
Because the Washington Bridge’s structural flaws were identified ahead of time, Rhode Island does not meet the federal definition of a “Major Disaster” for funding/reimbursement under the Stafford Act, said Gov. Daniel J. McKee spokesperson Olivia DaRocha. The federal law states governors can either request support for disasters caused by severe weather or if “the situation is beyond the capability of the state.”
While it has led to a traffic disaster, DaRocha said the closure had to have been caused by a natural disaster or other catastrophe.
But just because the state is missing out on those resources, Luchette said things could be worse.
“I keep thinking of those six guys who were working on that bridge fixing potholes in the middle of the night,” he said. “As inconvenient as it might be now in Rhode Island, it’s better than the alternative.”
Congress has foot the cost for replacing a collapsed bridge before, voting unanimously in 2007 to send $250 million in emergency funds to rebuild I-35W in Minneapolis after a portion of the highway fell into the Mississippi River during rush hour. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found faulty gusset plates were to blame for that bridge’s collapse.
“There’s precedent there for the total collapse of a major roadway,” Luchette said.
Even without Stafford Act support, state leaders remain confident the Washington Bridge replacement will secure federal funding.
“We continue to pursue all funding options beyond the standard 80/20 split,” DaRocha said in an emailed statement.
DaRocha was referring to the federal government’s usual 80% coverage of the funding for transportation projects. State and local governments pay about 20%. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was noncommittal if the federal government would go beyond that floor after touring the Washington Bridge on March 19.
“We don’t know the ultimate mix,” he said at the time.
Buttigieg also praised bridge workers for spotting the broken anchor rods when they did.
“There is a real risk residents would have found out through a collapse,” he said at a press conference after walking the bridge with McKee, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr., the state’s four congressional delegates, mayors of Providence and East Providence, and other state officials.
Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt also joined the tour.
So how can R.I. get funding?
While some funding sources remain up in the air, Luchette said there are still avenues the state can go down to cover demolition and construction costs.
The first step, he said, is to tap into federal formula funds the U.S. The Department of Transportation (USDOT) allocates to each state under the Bridge Investment Program, which was created by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
Rhode Island’s apportionment for federal fiscal year 2024 (which ends in September) is roughly $51 million, according to the USDOT. That same funding is expected for federal fiscal year 2025.
The bipartisan infrastructure law also creates an emergency relief account for disaster damaged highways and bridges, which is funded by a permanent annual authorization of at least $100 million. The emergency relief account has about $950 million, States Newsroom reported Wednesday. Buttigieg told reporters the fund has “a long line of needs and projects behind that.”
But getting that money, Luchette said, is dependent on what the final cost for the project will be.
“There’s a certain level of granularity and detail that’s needed,” he said.
Advertisements for the demolition bids are scheduled to be issued at the beginning of April. The company or group that will design and build the new Washington Bridge is supposed to be selected by the end of July, according to the timeline presented to the media on March 14.
Should the cost of the Washington Bridge project cost more than what’s available under the bipartisan infrastructure law, Luchette said that’s when Rhode Island’s congressional delegation would start to fight for federal appropriations — where it’s all about leveraging relationships.
“That’s where it becomes very valuable to have members like Jack Reed, who is a cardinal on the [Senate] Appropriations Committee,” Luchette said. “Or Gabe Amo, who knows his way around Washington.”
Since the westbound bridge’s sudden closure last December, members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation said they will look at any and all sources they can to ensure the bridge is rebuilt on schedule and on time.
That message did not change in a joint statement Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse sent Rhode Island Current Thursday.
“We will continue working with our colleagues to advocate for federal funding for the Washington Bridge rebuild,” the senators said. “The driver for next steps will be the state submitting its plan.”
Christopher Shea is a staff writer for the
Rhode Island Current.
