Rhode Island will use $400 million under its RhodeWorks infrastructure initiative to rebuild and replace bridges at the interchange of U.S. Route 6 and state Route 10 in Providence, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Wednesday.
Raimondo cited public safety concerns raised in a recent letter from the Federal Highway Administration and based on the Rhode Island Department of Transportation's own analysis.
The state Department of Transportation will issue a request for proposals to replace the so-called Huntington viaduct, Raimondo told reporters. That, she said, will allow work to begin as soon as next summer.
Raimondo also directed RIDOT to immediately begin quarterly inspections of the structurally deficient bridges in the interchange. In addition, she and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza agreed to complete the city's public feedback period within 60 days to enable RIDOT to proceed before the end of the year with finalized plans to fix, replace, or rebuild the other six remaining structurally deficient bridges.
"We have reached a point where we need to take immediate action on the 6-10 interchange," said the governor.
She said seven of the nine bridges along the interchange, which carries about 100,000 vehicles daily on average, have been structurally deficient for more than a decade, and some are supported by temporary "band-aids" that have been in place for so long that they, too, are now badly deteriorated. The Huntington viaduct scored a 19 out of 100 sufficiency rating in a federal review.
Bridges are eligible for replacement at a score of 50.
RIDOT will proceed with a design-build approach, which will enable the state to select a single contractor to engineer and construct the bridge replacements under the watchful eye of RIDOT's new project management division.
RhodeWorks, Raimondo's nearly $5 billion plan to improve the state's roads and bridges, is funded partly by a controversial toll on large trucks.
Moody'a Investors Service rates Rhode Island's general obligation bonds Aa2. Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings assign AA.
