Rhode Island has awarded a $625-million contract to the one and only bidder on a project to rebuild a series of bridges along key stretches of Interstate 95 and Route 10.
The consortium of Skanska USA, McCourt Construction and Aetna Bridge was the only venture to submit a proposal to the RFP the state Department of Transportation put out in January. After a brief period of negotiations, the state awarded Skanska the contract Wednesday.
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. Earlier this summer the state received no bids to rebuild the condemned westbound Washington Bridge.
What the $625-million contract covers
The Skanska joint venture will be responsible for designing the road and bridge changes as well as doing the construction work.
Rhode Island won a $251-million federal grant to help pay for the I-95 project, which it estimated last month would cost $723 million.
The DOT did not answer questions Thursday 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.
The I-95 project includes:
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Rebuilding 10 highway bridges along the I-95 corridor from the Providence River to the Pastore Complex in Cranston
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Slimming down Route 10 from Park Avenue to Elmwood Avenue
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Reworking the Amtrak Northeast Corridor electric catenary lines under two bridges
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Improving the flood-prone drainage on I-95 near Eddy Street
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Adding a dedicated right-turn lane from Park Avenue west to Elmwood Avenue north
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Repaving I-95
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Re-striping highway lanes “for compatibility with autonomous vehicles”
What else has Skanska worked on?
Skanska, which built Gillette Stadium, 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.
Skanska is part of the team rebuilding and reconfiguring the I-95 north Providence Viaduct in downtown. That project is expected to cost $265 million.
A legal team hired by the McKee administration is expected at some point this month to sue one or more companies who worked in some capacity on the Washington Bridge in an effort to recoup some of the money needed to tear it down and replace it.
Aetna was also a partner in the joint venture that was doing repairs on the Washington Bridge when the structure’s poor condition was discovered.
The lead company in that project, Barletta Heavy Division, is under an agreement not to bid on federally funded Rhode Island projects while a criminal case regarding contaminated fill at the Route 6-10 interchange project plays out.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: $625 million I-95/Route 6 reconstruction contract goes to only bidder
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