PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – While Rhode Islanders are now in the dark about how much it will cost to rebuild the failed Washington Bridge, the price tag even before demolition begins has already ballooned to nearly $23 million and counting.

Following last week’s news that no companies submitted bids to rebuild the westbound bridge, the McKee administration has abandoned any effort to provide the public with estimates of how much they think it might cost or when it may be completed.

“The final determinative of that cost will be when the bids come in,” R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti told reporters at a news conference this week.

“We’re going to know what the timeline is when we get the timeline,” Gov. Dan McKee added.

Even the failed bid process came with a cost. In response to an inquiry from Target 12, RIDOT said it spent about $395,000 on the unsuccessful request for proposals (RFP) process that elicited no bids, though a spokesperson emphasized that some of the work done for that RFP would still pay dividends when the state tries again.

Still, that’s only a small sliver of the nearly $23 million Rhode Island’s state government has reported spending on costs related to the closure of the westbound bridge, which shut down abruptly in December after an engineer discovered a structural failure. RIDOT is required to report expenses each month under a monitoring law enacted by lawmakers this spring.

A Target 12 analysis of the reports shows more than half of that emergency spending – $13.5 million – has been spent on construction costs. That includes work such as shutting down and reconfiguring traffic, along with shoring up the westbound bridge in preparation for demolition.

Rhode Island spent $2.3 million on an early idea for traffic mitigation – which was abandoned after three weeks – to ferry people between the East Bay and Providence for free. The idea didn’t draw much interest and ultimately cost taxpayers about $145 per passenger, according to estimates provided by Alviti when the service shut down in January.

Over the past seven months, the state also spent $2.2 million on bridge inspections; $1.4 million for police and fire overtime costs; and just over $1 million to keep tow trucks on standby to quickly respond to crashes and breakdowns.

Another $1.8 million has gone toward paying state transportation staff and other “miscellaneous” costs, according to an expense breakdown provided in a monthly report to lawmakers.

Target 12 asked RIDOT for a detailed breakdown of who has received the money, but a spokesperson said that information would only be provided after being processed as a formal Access to Public Records Act request.

In all, the $23 million spent so far represents about half the $46.4 million the state has budgeted for emergency costs. State officials are bullish that they won’t spend more than that.

But the same can’t be said for how much is now expected to be spent tearing down the bridge.

The state two weeks ago awarded a $45.8 million demolition contract to Aetna Bridge Co, which will rise to $48.8 million if the company achieves all its potential incentive payments. That would put the cost of the demolition contract about $17 million higher than the $31 million the state had budgeted, a price increase of about 57%.

With other costs included, that would bring the total price tag for demolition to $58.3 million.

The biggest question mark, however, continues to hang over the rebuild contract, which will represent by far the largest cost to taxpayers.

Alviti said Tuesday the state for now is sticking with the $368 million estimate for the new bridge that they provided to lawmakers last week, which includes design, construction and contingency costs. But even he was skeptical about that figure after the failure of the initial bidding process.

“It’s conditional upon what the market bears,” he said. “And there are a number of factors that are putting pressure on the market. Not the least of which is the abundance of work that is available right now, and how that might affect an escalating cost to the project.”

“When contractors are very busy — new projects they bid on tend to be a bit higher than normal,” he added.

In March, state leaders warned that anyone who bid on the rebuild contract would be held accountable to sticking the state’s aggressive timeline and costs. The proposed contract include penalties if the project ran late or went over budget.

Alviti acknowledged this week the state was “too aggressive,” and state officials have softened their tone considerably. They now plan to issue what’s called a “request for information,” or RFI, soliciting input from construction companies about what they see as a feasible cost and timeline to build a new westbound bridge.

“We pushed the envelope apparently beyond what the construction industry is willing to bear — we accept that,” he said.

The failed bid caught the attention of Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss, who represents several Bay State communities along the I-195 corridor.

“I’m disappointed that Governor McKee and his staff issued a request for proposals that got zero bids in return,” he said Thursday on 12 News at 4. “They did not architect a proposal that would have been executable immediately so that bridge could be rehabilitated.”

The second-term Democrat said he was talking recently with a constituent in Fall River who said she worked in Rhode Island and loved her job, but she was considering quitting because the commute had become so unbearable.

“That story is playing out across the cities and towns I represent and I really encourage the governor and his staff to expeditiously issue an RFP that can be built in consultation with construction firms,” he said.

Totaling up all the publicly disclosed costs that have been spent and projected so far – Rhode Island is eyeing a bill of nearly a half billion dollars for the Washington Bridge debacle.

How much it will actually end up costing in the end is anyone’s guess.

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

Tim White ( twhite@wpri.com ) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and 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 .

Kim Kalunian contributed to this report.

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