McKee Administration Provides Key Updates on the Washington Bridge Project

Providence, RI – Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) on Oct 15th, announced key updates on the Washington Bridge project: demolition has resumed, demolition of the substructure has been moved up to ensure a more timely and efficient continuity of work, and a new procurement for the reconstruction opens today.

“My priority is to make sure we’re doing everything we can to get a new bridge built as soon as we can — all while keeping Rhode Islanders safe,” said Governor Dan McKee. “We know that ensuring this complex project is done right will take time, but it is encouraging to see demolition resuming and the new procurement for the rebuild moving forward.”

Demolition resumes, demolition of substructure moved up  

This morning, demolition of the Washington Bridge resumed with crews working on the shoring towers on the East Providence side of the bridge. Necessary nighttime demolition that involves louder work such as jackhammering will not begin until Sunday, after the community is updated during a public meeting which is scheduled for Thursday, October 17 at 6:00 p.m.

Additionally, as a direct result of feedback received from the industry during the Request for Information (RFI) process, the State also announced that the demolition of the substructure will be moved up to February 2025 and completed as part of the active demolition contract. Moving the demolition of the substructure from the upcoming reconstruction project to the active demolition project will ensure a more timely and efficient continuity of work as crews and equipment are already mobilized at the site. This will prevent additional time and costs associated with bidding out the contract and remobilizing. This update also removes a level of uncertainty for potential reconstruction bidders, helping ensure the new procurement attracts qualified bids.

New reconstruction procurement opens  

On Oct 15th, the State will open a new two-step procurement for the Washington Bridge reconstruction project. The two-step procurement, preferred by the majority of companies that participated in the RFI, begins with the State issuing a Request for Qualifications, a solicitation that asks interested bidders to submit key criteria, such as experience in complex construction projects and qualifications of key staff.  

The RFQ will result in a shortlist of two qualified design-build companies that will move on to step two of the procurement, the Request for Proposals (RFP). The two-step procurement is designed to minimize risk to the State and the bidders by narrowing the field down to two highly qualified and interested companies early in the procurement process which also helps ensure that the companies that bid are best able to undertake the work. The RFQ opens today, October 15, and the shortlist will be announced on December 11. 

Once the two shortlisted companies are selected, the process will move forward as follows:

- The shortlisted companies will have an opportunity to review and provide feedback on an RFP issued by RIDOT. 

- If RIDOT determines that the feedback received will result in better proposals from the companies (particularly in terms of time and cost), the feedback will be incorporated into an addendum to the RFP and posted on January 24, 2025. 

- The shortlisted companies will each submit a technical and cost proposal in response to the RFP with a tentative award to be made on June 6, 2025.

To encourage participation in the RFP, RIDOT will offer an increased $1.75 million stipend to the unsuccessful shortlisted company to help cover the costs associated with crafting their technical and cost proposal. The RFI process showed that companies are often discouraged from advancing to the technical and cost proposal stage on such a complex project due to the significant costs associated with drafting a proposal.