Engineer estimates it will be four years before a new Washington Bridge opens
by GABRIELLE CARACCIOLO, NBC 10 NEWS
There will be a company to rebuild the Washington Bridge as Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s reviewing the qualifications of four teams, but how much its going to cost and how long it will take to build remains a mystery.
Engineer Casey Jones has been following the commuter crisis from months, examining public records for his YouTube channel.
Once physical construction work begins, “a bridge like this would typically take at least three years to construct, in my opinion,” he said.
He’s not surprised companies were initially reluctant to work with RIDOT when not one single company put in the bid the first time around.
“I work with DOTs all the time, directly and indirectly, and I’ve never seen this level of I think it’s mismanagement, quite frankly, and it’s just a spectacle,” he said. “From a management standpoint, it was pretty obvious that they made the mistake of having an unrealistic construction schedule. Even though they were offering incentives, there are also significant penalties for not meeting that accelerated construction schedule. It wasn’t surprising to me in that scenario that they didn’t get any, any response. And I think it’s a huge disservice to the people of Rhode Island, given the importance of this bridge.”
The state’s lawsuit against 13 companies that have worked on the condemned bridge may have also played a part.
Now under a new two-step selection process, four teams submitted themselves for consideration but Jones believes it will come at a price.
“I believe that Rhode Island is creating a situation where they’re going to pay way more for this bridge than they would have otherwise if they hadn’t pursued all this legal action,” he said.
In June, Aetna Bridge Company was chosen to demolish the bridge.
Four teams submitted themselves for consideration but an engineer believes it will come at a price. (WJAR)
This fall, the state added the underwater substructure to the demolition contract extending the timeline for completion until the end of 2025.
When two finalists are chosen next month, they’ll get to work on more detailed proposals for rebuilding the bridge including how much it’ll cost and an estimated timeline.
The final decision won’t be announced until June.
“As far as actually implementing any construction for the new bridge, you’re talking the earliest is early of 2026 and a bridge like this would typically take at least three years to construct, in my opinion,” he said. “So I think you’re looking at the existing eastbound bridge having to carry all this additional traffic for probably another four years before the westbound bridge has been replaced and open to traffic.”