The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) recently finalized a $625 million contract with the one and only bidder on a project to rebuild a total of 15 bridges along key stretches of Interstate 95 and Rhode Island Highway 10 in the Providence metro area.
A consortium made up of Skanska USA, McCourt Construction and Aetna Bridge had submitted a proposal to the RFP that the transportation agency put out in January. After a brief period of negotiations, the state awarded the contract to the joint venture on July 31, the Providence Journal reported.
Skanska has a New England office in Boston and McCourt is based in the Massachusetts capital city; Aetna is headquartered in nearby Warwick, R.I.
The I-95 contract is another example of Gov. Dan McKee's administration finding limited interest from the New England construction industry in working on large Rhode Island construction projects, according to the Journal. Earlier this summer, the state received no bids to rebuild Providence's condemned westbound Washington Bridge.
The Skanska joint venture will be responsible for designing the road and bridge changes as well as doing the construction work.
The "I-95 15" design-build project, which includes replacing the Huntington Viaduct carrying R.I. 10 over the interstate, is the largest ever undertaken by RIDOT. It is designed to remove the structures from the state's backlog of poor and fair to poor condition bridges along I-95 and R.I. 10 between Providence and Warwick — a critical corridor which supports 185,000 vehicles daily.
State transportation officials see the overhaul as a major step in holistically addressing the I-95 corridor to encourage the safe movement of traffic and $9.7 billion in freight. About 9,000 trucks and heavy freight vehicles use the roadways, which are bordered by hospitals, businesses and universities.
Rhode Island won a $251 million federal Bridge Investment Program (BIP) grant to help pay for the I-95 project, which it estimated in July would cost $723 million.
When contacted by the Journal on Aug. 1, RIDOT did not answer questions about whether that estimated total cost has changed or whether it is concerned the lack of competition for big construction jobs will drive up the cost of those projects.
In his BIP grant application letter last December, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti wrote that the overall project "is aimed at addressing many of Rhode Island's backlog of bridges in poor condition, so infamous that the state not so long ago was ranked worst in the nation in terms of bridge sufficiency ratings."
How Will the Money Be Used?
The state transportation agency plans to replace 10 bridges and remove five others. When completed, it will raise the vertical clearance above I-95 and prevent trucks from hitting the undersides of the bridges.
Nine of the bridge structures are currently rated as being in "poor" condition, and the remaining six are in "low-fair" shape, according to RIDOT.
The project area stretches for about 10 mi. southwest along the interstate, from the start of I-195 to a point along the Pawtuxet River across from the Pastore Complex in Cranston.
In addition, RIDOT and Skanska will:
- Slim down R.I. Highway 10 from Park Avenue to Elmwood Avenue.
- Add a dedicated right-turn lane from Park Avenue west to Elmwood Avenue north.
- Rework the Amtrak Northeast Corridor electric catenary lines under two bridges.
- Improve the flood-prone drainage on I-95 near Eddy Street.
- Repave I-95 for the length of the corridor and improve its median barriers.
- Re-stripe the highway lanes "for compatibility with autonomous vehicles."
The Journal noted that the most noticeable change for motorists will likely be on R.I. 10 from Park Avenue to the north side of I-95 where RIDOT wants to convert that stretch of highway from a limited-access freeway to a "boulevard."
Rhode Island is undertaking the I-95 15 construction while also finishing a $265 million overhaul of state Highway 37, which passes through the interstate project area.
RIDOT officials said the contractors will soon begin work on the I-95 project, with its completion tentatively set for 2031.
Skanska USA, which built Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., was one of two companies to bid on the contract to demolish the Washington Bridge, but the job was awarded to its now-venture partner Aetna Bridge.
Skanska also is part of the team rebuilding and reconfiguring the I-95 North Providence Viaduct in the city's downtown, an effort expected to cost $265 million.
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