RIDOT to collect feedback from bridge construction firms as it retools Washington Bridge bid specs

Gov. Dan McKee deferred questions about holding parties accountable for the poor condition of the Washington Bridge to the state's independent legal team during a press conference Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at the Department of Administration. At right is Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

The request for proposals to replace the western Washington Bridge struck out. Next up at bat: a request for information.

Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti, Jr. said Tuesday the state set the bar too high in its accelerated push to solicit bids to replace the badly deteriorated bridge connecting East Providence and Providence via I-195. The westbound portion of the bridge was closed abruptly last December.

R.I. transportation officials go back to drawing board after no bids to replace Washington Bridge

The state had set a completion date of August 2026 in its request for proposals with $10 million in incentives based on per-day rates ranging between $5,000 to $7,000 to get the job done as quickly as possible. Potential contractors faced daily penalties of $30,000 for exceeding the completion date.

Instead, the state will issue a new solicitation seeking feedback from companies about the initial request for proposals to replace the bridge that drew zero responses by the July 3 deadline. The new request would be issued “go out as soon as possible,” Alviti told reporters at a press conference at the Department of Administration.

The state’s new solicitation may push back the initial 2026 timeframe for a new bridge, which is estimated to cost around $368.3 million.

“We’re going to know what the timeline is when we get the timeline,” said Gov. Dan McKee. “Building a bridge obviously takes a while — I can’t answer what I don’t know.”

Under the state’s original timeline , the design process would have started some time next month.

No changes will be made to the state’s timeline to demolish the westbound bridge, which Alviti said is slated to begin July 17. The contract to tear down the westbound section of I-195 was awarded to Warwick-based Aetna Bridge Co.

The need to reissue bids to replace the bridge should not impact the state’s attempt to get additional federal funding on the project, said Rhode Island Director of the Office of Budget and Management Brian Daniels.

In May, RIDOT  applied for a $221 million U.S. Department of Transportation National Infrastructure Project Assistance discretionary grant, also known as a Mega Grant, which was created under the federal 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law . Daniels said the application only focused on the project scope — not the timeline.

“There may be some changes to that, but the general fundamentals are saying we do need to replace the bridge,” Daniels said.

Why weren’t there bids?

Over 2,100 vendors were notified of the bid to construct a new bridge when it first went online in April, Rhode Island Department of Administration spokesperson Cassius Shuman said in an email ahead of the governor’s press conference.

Only 67 viewed the solicitation and McKee acknowledged that only one asked questions on the online bid portal.

“That was an indication to us that we may not get the level of response on the RFP we had originally hoped for,” McKee told reporters.

The unnamed vendor requested RIDOT lower the timeframe to review designs, along with asking the state to confirm whether the design-build team would be allowed a non-compensable time extension in the event of a concurrent delay. The company asked for one-on-one meetings with state transportation officials, only to be denied.

Alviti said at Tuesday’s press conference having individual meetings would have been improper.

“It would provide an unfair advantage,” he said. “Now that we’re going into a procedure that is a request for information, we can open that up to not only to that company, but other companies who took a look at the bid and decided for various reasons — one or the other or collectively — why they wouldn’t participate.”

Several factors were believed to have played into the lack of responses, Alviti said. Chief among them, he said, was the state’s aggressive timeline along with asking bidders to assume more risk than normal. He also cited the “high-level of scrutiny” and attention the project brings.

“We pushed the envelope beyond apparently what the construction industry is willing to bear,” Alviti said. “We accept that, but we’re not going to be discouraged. We’re moving forward with plans, to readjust and move forward to continue to help commuters get the new bridge that they need and to get them back to life as normal.”

McKee also hired an independent legal team to review the work on the western Washington Bridge that happened prior to the emergency closure of the bridge on Dec. 11, 2023, when engineers discovered that it was at risk of collapse.

The governor on Tuesday declined to say if potential litigation dissuaded any potential bidders. McKee deferred to the legal team, Wistow, Sheehan & Lovely along with Savage Law Partners to comment on any steps the state plans to take to hold any firm or individual accountable for its poor condition.

McKee said he asked representatives from the firm to make themselves available to the news media. A press conference was scheduled for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Savage Law Partners downtown Providence office.

“We’re going to build a bridge that’s going to outlast our lifetime,” McKee said. “Let the chips fall where they may.”

Tuesday’s press conference was originally scheduled to take place at the State House but was moved to state offices across the street because of uncomfortable conditions during a period of very hot, humid weather.

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