Governor Dan McKee announced on Friday morning that a new Washington Bridge would be constructed by November of 2028, at a cost of $427 million.

The announcement came during a press conference at the State House, where the state publicized the winning bidder to complete the design and construction of the new bridge — which was narrowed down to two finalists on Dec. 10, 2024 — as the Chicago-based bridge building company, Walsh Construction.

Peter Alviti, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, said that the total hard costs of construction came in at $339 million in Walsh’s bid. The $427 million total includes a 10% contingency that may or may not be needed, amounting to $34 million. Additionally, the cost estimate includes $54 million in soft costs, including money for inspection services, and a potential $10 million bonus incentive available to Walsh if they can build the bridge ahead of the projected timeline.

McKee stated that the total cost estimate was “well within what we budgeted” and that “the bridge will be built for no additional cost to the taxpayers.”

This refers to the state’s procurement of two federal grants last year worth $221 million, the availability of $334 million in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles (GARVEE) bonds the state could borrow against anticipated future Federal Highway Administration funding, $15 million in funds repurposed from another federal grant, $35 million in remaining Covid relief money, and $107.6 million in the state’s long-term capital spending budget.

All told, the state had set aside about $713 million in possible available funding to build the bridge.

The $427 million to build the new bridge, plus the estimated $100 million to demolish the pre-existing bridge, would put the total cost of replacing the Washington Bridge at around $527 million — short of the $713 million in available funding, but certainly exceeding the $368 million estimate that was originally put out by state officials in the early days following the bridge closure.

The timeline, too, is significantly longer than originally anticipated, when Alviti infamously predicted a new bridge could be ready by August of 2026.

On Friday, Alviti noted that (in addition to the $10 million potential reward for finishing early), Walsh would face a $25,000 penalty for every day that the bridge goes beyond its anticipated schedule.

McKee added that the design of the bridge will have additional benefits.

“It will make traffic flow easier in both directions,” he said. “It will even address some of the issues that bogged down rush hour traffic long before we closed the westbound bridge.”

Additionally, Alviti said the bridge will be designed in a way where it could be easily inspected, and would be able to safely and effectively carry 80,000 vehicles a day (the updated number of cars estimated to travel the bridge since the reopening of the Henderson Bridge) for the next 100 years.

Now it will remain to be seen if the costs and timelines announced hold up to the scrutiny of time. Back in December of 2024, when the two final bidders were announced, it was said that demolition work would be completed by December of 2025, with work on construction commencing soon after.

“I understand that this has been a challenging time for those who rely on the Washington Bridge, especially in the early days before we were able to restore six lanes of traffic,” said McKee. “We owe it to you to deliver a bridge that is safe, and will ultimately make your life easier. Now, we have a plan to do just that.”