No bids submitted to rebuild the Washington Bridge. What happens next?

PROVIDENCE − No companies submitted bids by the July 3 deadline for the rebuilding of the Washington Bridge's westbound span, forcing state officials to reassess their next moves for the rebuilding process that along with demolition is expected to cost at least $450 million.

The request for proposals was put out on April 30, with a close date of July 3, essentially two months for companies to prepare bids for the project. The state has already tentatively awarded the contract for demolition of the westbound span.

"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," Department of Transportation Spokesman Charles St. Martin wrote in an email. "While expediency is still the goal, given that the initial RFP did not produce a response, we will now be reviewing and potentially adjusting factors affecting contractor participation to the RFP before rebidding the project."

Potential bidders wanted more time

Would-be bidders started agitating for more time and more attention from Department of Transportation officials by mid-May, about half way to the deadline. In a May 17 question, a bidder asked for "1-1 meetings" with Department of Transportation officials.

"These 1-to-1 meetings are critical to cultivating collaboration and reducing project risks," they wrote. At the minimum, the state needed to provide a "pre-proposal conference with an open question and answer segment."

In response on May 20, the state shot both requests down, citing the limited timeline to submit bids.

In another question, dated May 23, a would-be bidder asked the state to reevaluate its timeline and "allow for a more collaborative approach" so they could "develop a responsible bid."

Extending the due date would have ensured a "clear scope" and fair contract terms and allow contractors to submit "responsible bids" that would reduce disputes and "aid in an accelerated delivery."

The state's response, over a month later and eight days before the deadline: "No changes to the procurement schedule will be made at this time."

In all, would-be bidders submitted 52 questions, comments and complaints to the state. Most of them were submitted on May 23 and many were answered in a timely fashion, with the state issuing four addendums to the request.

For others, it took the state over a month to respond, with just a week to the deadline, including requests to change the language of the request.

Demolition contract 'tentatively' awarded

The McKee administration awarded the demolition contract for the failing bridge to Aetna Bridge Company of Warwick. It was one of two companies that submitted bids for the demolition, with a $45.8 million bid, $2 million higher than the other bidder, Manafort Brothers at $43.8 million.

That $2 million difference also meant an earlier completion date, of January 2025.

Aetna was one of the longtime bridge contractors that received letters from the state's legal team in April advising that they may want to tell their insurance companies they might be defendants in a future suit to recover damages for the bridge failure.

Manafort sued the state in connection with an unrelated viaduct contract and won a $4-million settlement.

Take a deep dive into the demolition contract, and the the bid vetting process, in this story by reporter Katherine Gregg.

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter