Frequently
Asked Questions
Everything You Want to Know About How We’re Rebuilding the Bridge—And Why It Matters
DESIGN / BUILD
The bridge will be done in November 2028. To keep the project moving forward on schedule, the State has established up to $10 million in incentives if lanes are opened ahead of schedule and penalties of $25,000 per day if the project timeline is exceeded.
Yes. RIDOT has adopted a belts-and-suspenders approach to the eastbound bridge and we literally have our finger on the pulse of the bridge. We have increased inspection frequency from every two years to every six months. Based on the findings, we schedule routine, preventative maintenance of the bridge. RIDOT also established weight limits for overweight trucks and worked closely with the State Police for increased enforcement. We installed a real-time monitoring system that integrates weigh-in-motion (WIM) technology and structural health monitoring (SHM) sensors to provide constant monitoring of the bridge’s performance and safety. All these efforts combined give us a high degree of confidence and assurance that the bridge is safe, well cared for and in good condition to remain in service with the current traffic configuration during the bridge rebuild and in the years after it is done.
The construction contract hard cost at is $339 million, and the project budget includes other soft costs for inspections and potential incentives and contingencies for a total rebuild cost up to $427 million.
The bridge is of a very similar design. This provided Walsh an advantage as they are familiar with the design and will include a number of firms on the design-build team from that project to work here in Rhode Island. This level of expertise and coordination will enable the quickest possible construction timeframe.
The new bridge is being designed to last 100 years. The existing substructure from the 1960s was not constructed to current design standards and would have likely needed extensive modifications that would outweigh any benefits of being able to reuse them. This was further clarified as a result of a request-for-information process during procurement; it was clear that a majority of prospective bidders favored removal of the substructure prior to construction. This provided less risk to bidders without having to incorporate plans for rehabilitation or removal of old substructure elements during the construction phase.
The new bridge will be designed to have a 100-year lifespan.
Yes. The bridge will include 12-foot travel lanes, which is standard width for interstate highways. It will include shoulders to accommodate any disabled vehicles. The current lanes have been narrowed, speed limits reduced, only while the eastbound bridge is being used to temporarily carry both eastbound and westbound traffic.
No, but the project maintains all connectivity with local streets and current bikeways and the Washington Bridge Linear Park, a combined bike path and walkway constructed on the south side of the eastbound bridge in 2014.
As We Build
Because much of the work will take place over the river or at the edge of the river, noise impacts will be minimal. At times certain activities may create noise, and RIDOT has established noise level monitors around the project area to monitor noise which is regulated under the contract not to exceed certain levels
Much of the construction will be in the footprint of the old westbound bridge, so there will be little disruption from that work. During times of construction in the area of Gano Street on the Providence side and Waterfront Drive in East Providence, temporary lane closures and detours may be necessary. Different elements of the project may have other impacts and will be announced well in advance. This includes the demolition and reconstruction of the Potter Street Bridge over I-195.
The new design includes four through lanes from close to the Massachusetts border and five through lanes on the bridge itself. One bridge, the Potter Street overpass, will be rebuilt to accommodate the wider highway corridor. This will reduce merge points and provide a safer, more efficient movement of traffic along I-195 westbound and over the bridge.
RIDOT TEAM
RIDOT has a new dedicated website for the Washington Bridge Rebuild, www.WashingtonBridgeRebuild.com which include regular construction updates and videos showing progress on different elements of the project. RIDOT will continue issuing weekly project updates that are emailed out to interested residents and businesses and continue its monthly snapshot report, available on the website. The Department also plans to host a number of virtual public meetings over the duration of the rebuild project to provide information and answer questions.
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