With no bids to rebuild, R.I. governor declines to offer timeline for westbound Washington Bridge

State officials declined Tuesday to project when a new westbound Washington Bridge would open.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee’s administration plans to issue a request for information to determine why a proposal to rebuild the span attracted no bids by a recent deadline.

At a press conference, the governor declined to say what the lack of interest thus far in constructing a new bridge means for the timeline to rebuild the structure.

“We’re going to know what the timeline is when we get the timeline,” McKee told reporters in response to a question.

Under a previous estimate, the state projected the new westbound Washington Bridge would be done by August 2026 — before the next statewide primary for governor.

Peter Alviti, director of the state Department of Transportation, also declined to specify a new timeline.

“I’m not going to speculate as to the time,” Alviti said. “I think the request for information will help us find the acceptable timeframe that companies will need in order to execute the process and create a competitive environment. That’s the target we’ll be aiming at.”

"We’re going to know what the timeline is when we get the timeline."

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee

Asked if the estimated cost of bridge replacement — initially put at $250 million to $300 million — will go up, Alviti said he has maintained that market prices will determine the ultimate price.

Brian Daniels, head of the state Office of Management and Budget, said he does not expect the longer process to hinder the state application for a federal mega-grant of up to $334 million to help pay bridge costs.

However, if former President Donald Trump retakes the White House in November, that could affect the federal government’s transportation funding to Rhode Island.

In related news, the legal team hired by McKee to conduct a forensic analysis of what went wrong prior to the abrupt emergency closing of the westbound Washington Bridge last December plans to discuss its findings Wednesday morning.

McKee declined to say whether the forensic report will be made public.

Alviti acknowledged the added congestion caused by the bridge has been difficult for people who regularly use it. He said one possible reason for the lack of bids could be that  the state’s request for proposal included an aggressive schedule for completing the bridge project in hopes of accelerating the fix.

“And there were substantial penalties, as you all know, associated with meeting those schedules during the project,” Alviti said. “We asked the bidders to assume more risk than normal to hold them to a very high accountability standard.”

Alviti also pointed to a high volume of available work in the New England construction market, “and we can’t discount the high level of scrutiny and attention this has been getting and the atmosphere of controversy around this project.”

Another possible factor: the state’s legal team has advised some of the companies that have previously done construction work for the state that they may face bridge-related litigation.

McKee noted the bidding process is conducted outside his office, by the state departments of Administration and Transportation.

This story was originally published by the Public's Radio. WBUR and the Public's Radio share stories through a partnership.