Washington Bridge Replacement and Redevelopment Project
Improving a critical piece of highway infrastructure in the heart of Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) signed the contract to rebuild the westbound side of the Washington Bridge on June 24, 2025. Activity for the rebuild began immediately and coincided with ongoing demolition. The new bridge will open traffic lanes on November 3, 2028. Total cost is $427.9 million.
The contractor, Walsh Construction, the number one bridge builder in the country, started to finalize design, survey the site, drill for borings, obtain all necessary permits, order materials, fabricate steel and mobilize workers and equipment. Expediting the rebuild was the fact that Walsh would use the same design as the New Chain of Rocks Bridge in Missouri making this build easier and quicker to do.
The design reduces the length of the bridge by 459 feet by building fewer supporting piers. The bridge will be brand new from the substructure to the bridge deck and will have a 100-year life to support the 80,000 vehicles that use it daily.
The new design addresses the historical backup in commuter traffic coming west on the bridge from the Massachusetts state line. There will be five through lanes rather than four in addition to a new on-ramp to I-195 west from Gano Street and an off-ramp from I-195 west to Waterfront Drive. The project also includes repaving I-195 and upgrading the drainage system.
Design/Build
RIDOT chose design/build (D/B) as the project delivery system for the Washington Bridge rebuild project. This system ensures that all interested parties from the contractor to the general public have a clear understanding of the cost and the schedule. RIDOT was committed to providing that kind of transparency.
With a design/build model there is one contractor who does both the project design and the construction with these activities often overlapping. The traditional design/bid/build model is more sequential. The other advantage with design/build is that it provides for a single point of responsibility for the full project from concept to completion. The D/B entity which can be a joint venture or a single entity takes full responsibility for all that happens with the project. This reduces the risk to the project owner, in this case, RIDOT. Finally, D/B does not require RIDOT to hire the lowest bid but can chose the best value from the bids submitted.
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Washington Bridge Rebuild Video Archives
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
The advantages with a design/build approach is that it provides for a single point of responsibility for the full project from concept to completion
PROJECT UPDATES
All of this work is part of our ongoing effort to have a high level of maintenance on this bridge. We are doing work proactively to provide a measure of safety.
PROJECT UPDATES
Washington Bridge Rebuild Documents
At the announcement of the selection of Walsh Construction to build the new Washington Bridge, RIDOT shared this information to introduce the public to the company and their design for the new bridge.
WASHINGTON BRIDGE REBUILD
Project Features
1. Additional travel lane, new off-ramp:
Includes increasing the number of lanes over the bridge from four to five and constructing a new on-ramp to I-195 West from Gano Street and an off-ramp from I-195 West to Waterfront Drive.
2. New travel lane configurations to reduce longstanding congestion:
Includes new lane configurations for I-195 West in East Providence to eliminate longstanding traffic delays westbound toward Providence. This will provide an additional travel lane approaching the bridge. To accomplish this, the contractor will widen I-195 West to provide four lanes instead of three between the Broadway on-ramp and the Washington Bridge, replace the Potter Street overpass, and relocate an existing pier connected to the off-ramp from I-195 East to Taunton Avenue.
3. New substructure:
The bridge will be built on an entirely new substructure. The removal of the substructure was added to the demolition project last fall. Demolition went all the way down to the riverbed.
4. Smaller Footprint:
The new bridge will have a footprint that is more than 450 feet shorter than the old bridge. The design calls for far fewer supporting piers in the river.
5. Aesthetics:
Aesthetic lighting will illuminate the length of the bridge deck on its northern side. Prefabricated arches will be built over local streets on the Providence side of the river to mimic the look the original Washington Bridge.