The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced, with the release of its new quarterly report this past weekend, that it soon will advertise for a contractor to build a new pedestrian bridge connecting the east and west sides of the Providence River in the footprint of the former I-195 highway corridor. Thanks to a change to a project management approach for oversight of all its projects, RIDOT was able to move up the contract advertising date from July to late May.
Preliminary construction activities are expected for the new Providence River Pedestrian Bridge this fall, with the bulk of construction commencing in early 2017. Work on the project, with a total budget of $13.2 million with a budget contingency of $1.5 million, will take approximately two construction seasons to complete.
"Here at RIDOT we are moving at the speed of business and our project management teams across the board are closely administering all our projects," said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Jr. "Through these efforts, we are pleased to be able to get started on this important project very soon."
"RIDOT has made significant progress in advancing the launch of this pedestrian bridge which will be a signature infrastructure component within the I-195 District," said Peter McNally Executive Director of the I-195 Redevelopment District. "We're thrilled the RIDOT project management team is moving quickly in finalizing its design and bid process for this project. The bridge is an important economic development infrastructure initiative since it joins new research and design facilities to educational institutions and provides a direct connection that links the new Providence Innovation & Design District."
RIDOT in mid-April posted draft plans of the bridge project on its website in an effort to engage with the contracting community (located at www.dot.ri.gov/draftplans). The Department is now in the process of finalizing necessary permits and preparing a final set of plans for advertising.
RIDOT also is working on design plans for a second contract, likely beginning in late 2017/early 2018 for the construction of new parks on either end of the bridge. RIDOT needs to commence work on the bridge first before beginning work on the parks.
Information on the project's budget and schedule is part of RIDOT's new quarterly report, published this past weekend on RIDOT's website at www.dot.ri.gov/performance (see Page 41). RIDOT will be posting updates for schedules and budgets for all its projects every three months. Additionally, new project accountability signs will be posted in the coming weeks for all of RIDOT's current and upcoming projects, making RIDOT accountable for delivering the projects on time and on budget.
Contact: Charles St. Martin (401) 222-1362, Ext. 4007