A budget of $625 million will be used to repair 15 bridges in the US state of Rhode Island. The contract for the work was awarded to a joint venture consisting of Skanska, McCourt Construction and Aetna Bridge. The scope of work was awarded by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT).
The work will be done on 15 bridges on a 10-mile stretch of I-95 between Providence, Cranston and Warwick. This section of I-95 is being upgraded as part of a $779 million project, including bridge improvements. Work will begin soon and will be completed in 2031.
However, repairing these 15 bridges will do little to solve the problem of failing bridges in Rhode Island. These improvements will repair three of the state’s five bridges that are considered to be in disrepair and subject to high traffic volumes. However, two other high-traffic bridges will remain unchanged, and in total, 163 bridges in the state will need to be repaired or replaced, according to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
The funding came from a package from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which allocated $5 billion for bridge work. These funds were made available through the competitive bridge investment program of President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. A portion of this package was provided to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation for the I-95 bridge upgrade work.
