$95.6 million federal grant brings RI one step closer to funding Washington Bridge rebuild | ABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Officials announced Wednesday a new pot of federal money for the replacement of the Washington Bridge, a $95.6 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“This brings the total federal dollars to nearly 221 million dollars and that’s a little bit more than what the state requested,” said Senator Jack Reed.

Combined with the previous mega grant that the state received, Rhode Island now has nearly $221 million to replace the westbound side of the bridge.

Sen. Reed called this new round of funding a top priority.

“What we wanted to do was give the state and the people of Rhode Island the sense that they have a significant federal resource available to them to begin the project and to carry them forward, so now there’s resources to begin and we’ll work in the future for more, if necessary,” said Reed.

While the $95.6 million brings the state one step closer to rebuilding the bridge, there’s still no updated timeline for when the reconstruction will start.

“Well, I think we would all like to see the bridge reopen tomorrow, that’s not going to happen,” explained Reed. “We have to be realistic, this is a major project, first the demolition which will renew this week and then the design of the bridge so that it is long lasting, and then the construction which we know takes time.”

The demolition of the westbound side could take until at least February to finish.