PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Gov. Dan McKee acknowledged Tuesday he doesn’t know when the new westbound Washington Bridge might be finished or how much it may cost to build, saying his administration plans to reach out to construction companies to ask why none of them bid on the project.

“We’re going to know what the timeline is when we get the timeline,” McKee told reporters as he faced a barrage of questions during a news conference. He apologized at one point for being unable to provide answers.

The governor’s comments came as he and members of his cabinet sought to explain what they plan to do next after no companies submitted bids to rebuild the bridge — which closed nearly seven months ago — when the deadline came and went last Wednesday.

Officials said they now believe the “request for proposals,” or RFP, that they put out for construction companies included timelines and risk-sharing provisions that were “too aggressive.”

“We pushed the envelope apparently beyond what the construction industry is willing to bear — we accept that,” R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti said.

“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 they need and get them back to life as normal pre-bridge closure,” he said.

The state will now be issuing a so-called “request for information,” or RFI, which will open a discussion between the state and potential bidders about what kind of contract will solicit the most interest. Officials expect that process to be underway by the end of July.

“The first step in that process is to confirm why the companies didn’t come forward,” Alviti said. “That will allow us to collect the information we need in order to precisely understand why the resistance, and to help us create a new RFP to conform more to what the industry finds acceptable.”

The transportation director expressed no second thoughts about the failed RFP process, saying the plan was put together in consultation with federal officials and the state’s own consultants.

“We don’t have regrets at DOT,” he said. “We adjust according to what the market and facts tell us to. The fact is we now know we had an aggressive timeline and a number of other aggressive things.”

The new strategy of issuing an RFI, followed eventually by a new RFP, has created major doubts about whether the state can still open the new westbound bridge in time to meet the current target date of August 2026, as well as about how much the project might cost.

The original contract for construction of the new bridge was valued at over $300 million, which Alviti said remains the official estimate. But he said the actual price tag will be determined by the market and the level of interest in the construction industry. He also warned that major infrastructure projects have recently totaled far more than projected price levels.

Alviti said the failed construction bid will not affect the state’s new $45.8 million deal with Aetna Bridge Co. to demolish the closed westbound bridge, which connects Providence and East Providence. The company won a separate competitive bidding process last month and the deal is expected to be finalized by July 17, according to Alviti. Aetna is eligible for up to $3 million in incentives, as well.

The state is banking on the federal government covering the lion’s share of the cost of the bridge project, and has applied for a sizable federal grant to help pay for it. R.I. Office of Management and Budget Director Brian Daniels said he also doesn’t expect the latest delay to affect the state’s eligibility for the grant.

“The application will still be strong and competitive and I don’t think there will be much of a difference,” he said.

State officials couldn’t immediately say how much taxpayers had spent on the failed bidding process over the past couple months. During the process, one unnamed company submitted several questions to the state and raised concerns about the scope, risk and accelerated timeline requirements.

Alviti said the state couldn’t legally change the terms of the bidding process while it was in progress.

McKee had been seeking to complete the project ahead of the next gubernatorial primary in September 2026, where he’s planning to seek re-election. A poll last month showed only 29% of Rhode Island voters approve of how the governor has handled the bridge crisis so far.

McKee dismissed questions about the controversy’s effect on him politically. “We’re going to build a bridge that’s going to outlast our lifetimes,” he said. “That’s my responsibility as the governor. And let the chips fall where they may.”

McKee also deflected all questions about whether his administration will hold anybody accountable for the sudden bridge failure. The closure has resulted in months of traffic jams, financial hardship for local businesses and political headaches for state and local leaders on both sides of Narragansett Bay.

The governor has hired a legal team of private attorneys, led by Max Wistow and Jonathan Savage, to examine whether the state can take legal action and recoup money from any developer, contractor or inspector that’s worked on the bridge over the years.

“I’m going to defer to them and allow them to do their job, which is why I brought them on, to hold anybody accountable,” McKee said. He refused to say whether he himself knows what went wrong with the westbound bridge.

“I have to defer to them,” he said.

McKee said he directed the legal team to hold their own news conference to discuss the state’s litigation strategy, which they plan to do on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The governor won’t be part of the litigation news conference — he is headed to Salt Lake City for the next three days in order to attend the summer meeting of the National Governors Association.

Alviti did point to some good news on traffic, saying the situation around the bridge has improved markedly since the eastbound bridge was converted to handle traffic in both directions. The exception is traffic on I-195 East in the evening, which he said is significantly worse now.

Alviti also shared weekly data he provides to the governor that shows traffic and crashes in both directions have declined in recent weeks.

Eli Sherman ( esherman@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook .

Ted Nesi ( tnesi@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter , Threads and Facebook .

Tim White, Alexandra Leslie and Lauren Brill contributed to this report.

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Daily Roundup

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.