11 companies send RI feedback on how to rebuild Washington Bridge
by: Alexandra Leslie
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Eleven companies have responded after the state formally asked construction firms to provide insight into how long it might take and what it may cost to rebuild the closed westbound Washington Bridge.
A request for information, or RFI, was sent out to potential contractors and posted on the state’s website July 19. It comes about a month after no companies submitted bids to build the bridge in response to the state’s initial offer of a roughly $360 million contract for the job.
However, the information the companies have now provided will not yet be released publicly.
A spokesperson for the R.I. Department of Administration told Target 12 that while the list responding vendors will be disclosed, their actual responses “would be subject to the Access to Public Records Act at the time of a final contract award of a subsequent, related procurement.”
The companies that responded to the RFI include:
- American Bridge Company
- American Council of Engineering Companies of Rhode Island
- GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
- Halmar International LLC
- International Business Machines Corp.
- J.H. Lynch & Sons, Inc.
- Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
- Michael Baker International, Inc.
- Michels Construction, Inc.
- Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc.
- Walsh Construction Company II, LLC
The initial lack of interest in building the new bridge was a blow to Gov. Dan McKee and his advisers, who had announced earlier this year that they wanted a new bridge opened by August 2026. (McKee is up for reelection that fall.)
The governor had offered up to $10 million in incentives to companies if they got the job done more quickly, and also threatened to charge penalties if they fell behind.
Though no bids were submitted by a state-imposed deadline of July 3, documents posted on the state’s website indicated there had been at least some interest in the job.
Dozens of questions were submitted to RIDOT in May and June, asking about the scope of the project and the agency’s expectations, though officials said all the inquiries were made by the same companies.
McKee has acknowledged the “aggressive” timeline to get the bridge torn down and rebuilt was likely part of the reason there were no bidders, and said he hoped to find out how realistic it was to keep the original timeline through the RFI process.
“We need to make sure that we get somebody to bid on it this time,” McKee said Thursday during a live interview on 12 News at 4. “I’ve made it very clear that we can’t have another misstep here.”
The RFI asked potential bidders whether they even saw the initial bidding opportunity, as well as what aspects were “most attractive” and what were “most high risk.”
State officials also asked what they should consider to “ensure the success” of the bridge project, and what incentives or disincentives were “a significant consideration” in any decisions not to bid.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook.