RI lawmakers reviewing cost estimates for Washington Bridge rebuild
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — State lawmakers are proceeding with caution after Gov. Dan McKee announced that it will cost $427 million and take until at least November 2028 to rebuild the westbound Washington Bridge Friday.
McKee said the state has hired Walsh Construction Co. of Chicago to rebuild the heavily traveled bridge that abruptly closed to traffic in December 2023 after a structural failure.
In a statement to 12 News, R.I. House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi said lawmakers will be reviewing McKee’s cost estimates and will “evaluate the impact on the budget that the House Finance Committee is preparing.”
“Rhode Islanders who rely on the Washington Bridge have had their daily lives disrupted for nearly 18 months,” Shekarchi said. “As the bridge project moves forward, [the House] will continue its work ensuring the [McKee] administration is accountable.”
R.I. Senate President Valarie Lawson’s reaction to McKee’s cost estimates was similar.
Lawson, who represents East Providence, said the Senate Finance Committee will also be taking a closer look at the cost estimates to rebuild the bridge, “but all Rhode Islanders deserve safe and reliable transportation infrastructure.”
“Rebuilding the Washington Bridge as expeditiously as possible remains a top priority for me and my constituents,” Lawson said in a statement. “No one has felt the impact of the bridge’s closure more than the residents and small businesses I represent in East Providence.”
State officials initially estimated in early 2024 the bridge would cost between $250 million and $300 million, though they cautioned at the time those figures were highly preliminary. A later, more concrete estimate put the price tag at $368 million, making the new $427 million estimate a 16% increase.
The new timeline is also considerably longer than state officials’ earlier goal of having the new westbound bridge open by August 2026. Asked by a reporter if he took accountability for the inaccurate early estimates, McKee replied, “I think that we got it right.” He said they had tried to do the project faster but changed course when experts told them it wasn’t possible.
The rebuild contract is only one part of the overall cost of the Washington Bridge crisis. When demolition and emergency costs are added to the overall total, taxpayers are currently expected to pay $571 million for the infrastructure failure, according to a Target 12 analysis of state documents.
More than 96,000 vehicles drove over the westbound I-195 bridge each day before the closure, according to the R.I. Department of Transportation. The state has since rerouted traffic on the eastbound Washington Bridge, a newer span, to go in both directions with additional lanes.
RIDOT Director Peter Alviti said the new bridge that is slated to open in 2028 has been designed to carry 80,000 vehicles every day for 100 years. (Alviti said he expected daily traffic to be lower than pre-closure levels because of the reopening of the Henderson Bridge, another connection between Providence and East Providence.)
It will have five lanes instead of four, and I-195 West in East Providence will be widened by removing a lane on the approach to the bridge. There will be a new on-ramp from Gano Street and a new off-ramp to Waterfront Drive. The new bridge will also be shorter than the old one, requiring fewer piers, and will be made to look similar to its predecessor.
Walsh is eligible for up to $10 million in incentive payments if the company can get the bridge done sooner than planned. On the flip-side, the company would face $25,000 a day in penalties if it fails to meet the timeline. Advance work will begin next month.
Ted Nesi and Eli Sherman contributed to this report.
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