Dive Brief:
- Rhode Island awarded a $625 million contract to address 15 ailing bridges along I-95 to a joint venture, Rhode Island DOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin said in an email. The team is composed of New York City-based Skanska USA, Boston-headquartered McCourt Construction and Aetna Bridge of Warwick, Rhode Island.
- The contract is part of a $779 million project that aims to holistically improve the 10-mile stretch of I-95 through Providence, Cranston and Warwick, Rhode Island. The bridges set for remediation or removal support or span critical infrastructure, including Amtrak, commuter and freight rail lines.
- The goal of the project is also to ameliorate the flow of truck freight, improve vertical clearances on I-95 and reduce bridge strikes, according to a news release from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
Dive Insight:
The JV will be responsible for designing the project as well as doing the construction and removal work along the I-95 corridor. It was the lone bidder for the contract, according to The Providence Journal. According to Rhode Island DOT documents, the project entails:
- Rebuilding 11 bridges.
- Removing 4 bridges.
- Converting Route 10 to a boulevard.
- Repaving I-95.
- Upgrading the median barrier.
The project is the largest that the Rhode Island DOT has ever undertaken, according to the agency website. It is funded in part with a $251 million federal grant from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
According to the Rhode Island DOT, there are 163 bridges across the state in poor condition. In March, the I-195 Washington Bridge — a key gateway to the state capital Providence — grabbed headlines when an inspection found it had to be demolished and replaced.
The agency is working to address the issue. Over the past eight years, the Rhode Island DOT has reduced the number of structurally deficient bridges by 12%. The I-95 project will reduce the number of bridges rated poor by 7.6%, according to the agency website, and eliminate three of the top five most traveled structurally deficient bridges in the state.
Work is slated to begin this year and wrap in 2031, per the Rhode Island DOT.
