Officials give update on Washington Bridge rebuilding

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Days after no bids were placed to rebuild the Washington Bridge, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and other state officials addressed the media.

Officials acknowledged Tuesday that they were too aggressive with their initial request for a proposal for the reconstruction of the bridge, saying they were pushing the envelope beyond what the construction industry is willing to bear.

When it comes to getting a bid for reconstruction, the state will now issue a request for information to get input from contractors in the industry, something they did not do last time.

Governor McKee and Transportation Director Peter Alviti said they will not know the timeline for getting the project done until they get the RFI back and the request for proposal is done.

While they cannot answer any timeline questions, the governor said they are comfortable demolishing the bridge before they have a plan for a reconstruction.