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Dive Brief:
- Rhode Island awarded a $625 million contract to addresses 15 affected bridges along I-95 to a joint venture, Rhode Island DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin he said in an email. The team consists of New York City-based Skanska USA, Boston-based McCourt Construction and Aetna Bridge of Warwick, Rhode Island.
- The contract is part of a $779 million project that aims to comprehensively improve the 10-mile stretch of I-95 through Providence, Cranston and Warwick, Rhode Island. Bridges are established to support repair or removal or span critical infrastructure such as Amtrak, commuter lines, and freight railroads.
- The aim of the project is also to improve the flow of goods from trucks, improve vertical clearances on I-95 and reduce bridge strikes, according to a news release from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
Diving knowledge:
The JV will be in charge of designing the project as well as doing the construction and removal of the I-95 corridor. It was the sole bidder for the contract, according to The Providence Journal. In accordance with Rhode Island DOT documentsthe project involves:
- Rebuilding 11 bridges.
- Removal of 4 bridges.
- Turning Route 10 into a boulevard.
- I-95 resurfacing.
- Improvement of the average barrier.
The project is the largest the Rhode Island DOT has ever undertaken, according to the agency’s website. It is funded in part by a $251 million federal grant from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investments Act.
According to the Rhode Island DOT, there are 163 bridges statewide in poor condition. In March, the I-195 Washington Bridge — a key gateway to the state capital of Providence — grabbed headlines when an inspection found it needed to be torn down and replaced.
The agency is working to fix the problem. 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 classified as poor by 7.6 percent, according to the agency’s website, and will eliminate three of the state’s top five structurally deficient bridges.
Construction is scheduled to begin this year and be completed in 2031, according to the Rhode Island DOT.
