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Originally Published: September 13, 2024 at 5:39 p.m.

Gov. Dan McKee spent part of this week in Washington D.C. as the state’s top lobbyist in an attempt to secure federal funding to cover the still-to-be-determined cost of rebuilding the westbound Washington Bridge.

The governor met with Senior White House Adviser Tom Perez Wednesday to get President Joe Biden’s administration to approve a $221 million grant application currently pending before the U.S. Department of Transportation. State officials expect to know whether Rhode Island is awarded the federal money sometime in the fall. 

So how did the lobbying effort go? “Good,” McKee said during his weekly “Ask the Governor” interview with WPRO’s Gene Valicenti Thursday.

“We just made it clear that this is a high priority,” McKee said. “It is a competitive bid, we’re competing with the country — but I believe the case we’re making is one that represents how critical this is and how much an issue this is for the people that live in our state.”

The governor also connected with his predecessor, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, about trying to sway the Biden administration on the state’s behalf, McKee spokesperson Olivia DaRocha said in an emailed statement.

“What we’re doing is taking every possible person who could help us be successful,” McKee told Valicenti.

Financials behind the rebuild project are expected to be clarified after the state issues a second request for proposals. The initial request — posted April 30 with a July 3 deadline to respond — drew no bidders. 

When the new round of bidding opens is anyone’s guess.

Vendor feedback to shape new Washington Bridge bid specs not being made public

“It should be soon, but no dates have been put out,” Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) spokesperson Charles St. Martin said in an interview Thursday.

The state’s continued push for federal dollars comes as bridge deck and beam demolition is underway on the westbound highway, which has been closed to traffic since December. That work is being done under a $45.8 million contract between the state and Warwick-based Aetna Bridge Co.

RIDOT does not expect traffic on the eastbound span to be affected by the ongoing demo work — though it has resulted in ongoing night time closures to portions of Gano Street in Providence for the next couple of weeks. State transportation officials also plan to close Waterfront Drive in East Providence for one week starting Sept. 17.

The superstructure of the bridge is expected to be torn down by the end of January, according to the proposal Aetna submitted to RIDOT. Rhode Island Current submitted a records request for Aetna’s full demolition plan on Sept. 3, but still has not received a response from RIDOT as of Friday. 

State monitoring weight on eastbound bridge

No implosions will occur, St. Martin said — that way debris doesn’t fall into the Seekonk River and it will protect the adjacent eastbound span, which now carries traffic in both directions.

Increased traffic on the eastbound has caused some concerns at RIDOT, as the state in May paid $2.8 million to Swiss-based technology company Kistler to install monitoring systems meant to keep track of the bridge’s structural health.

“The eastbound Washington Bridge has become considerably more sensitive since the closing of the westbound bridge,” RIDOT engineer John Priess wrote in an April 25 request form.

Kistler was chosen through a sole source procurement — meaning a public bid process was not required. St. Martin said Thursday that was because “no other companies contacted about this technology could provide the combined analysis RIDOT sought.”

He added the new monitoring system is a precautionary measure.

“One of the great things about this system is that it will use multiple communications channels to notify RIDOT in real time if any issues are detected,” St. Martin said in an emailed statement. “This purchase should provide peace of mind to anyone who has concerns about the increase in traffic now that there are six active lanes on the bridge.”

There are no plans for weight restrictions. Installation is expected to be complete in October.

What about that lawsuit?

Litigation against the 13 firms who previously worked on or inspected the bridge before its sudden closure is still in its early stages. As things pick up, the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General confirmed Friday it will post filings on its website as they become available.

Spokesperson Timothy Rondeau declined to say when that would begin. 

There have been no major filings since the lawsuit itself was filed in mid-August aside from one hearing to get on the Superior Court’s business calendar and attorneys signing on to represent the defendants.

LARAMIE, Wyoming — Wyoming football players, coaches and fans have spent a lot time the past week talking about how important BYU’s visit on Saturday is to them, and how great it would be if they could knock off their once-bitter rivals on the high plains of Laramie.

“They are a wounded dog right now, and we better be ready to go, because they have got great coaches, they have got good players, and they have got good schemes. So we gotta be ready for their best shot.”

—  BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill

At least one Cougar knows that it isn’t idle talk. BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker’s father, former BYU and minor league baseball player Stephen Glasker, was born in Wyoming, and every year the family travels to Rock Springs, Wyoming, for a family reunion on Independence Day.

“All my cousins live there and they are diehard Wyoming fans, so they kinda give me crap all the time about (playing for BYU),” Glasker said. “I would say I got a little extra juice going into this game, for sure, just because the whole family is going to be there.”

They won’t be alone. Despite the Cowboys’ 0-2 start, and the embarrassing 17-13 loss to FCS Idaho last week, 30,000-seat War Memorial Stadium was close to being sold out as of midday Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Saturday and the game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network.

BYU leads the series 46-30-3 and has won the last nine matchups. The Cougars (2-0) are 10-point favorites and obviously have bigger games down the road in their second season in the Big 12, but Glasker says they won’t be looking past the Cowboys, after hearing from their own coaches who have played and coached in Laramie about how charged up the home team will be.

“Honestly, I have never been there, so I can’t really say too much, but I am excited just to see the atmosphere,” Glasker said. “I have heard it is crazy, so for sure.”

For BYU’s defense, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Glasker said the key to success is simple.

“Stop the run. That’s it. We are big on stopping the run,” he said. “Make them beat us over the top, mostly.”

Wyoming has one of the bigger quarterbacks BYU will face this season — 6-5, 245-pound junior Evan Svoboda of Mesa, Arizona. He won’t be an easy QB to bring down for a BYU defense that has posted five sacks through two games.

“I feel like we are not too worried about (Svoboda’s size). He is a pretty good quarterback on film. So mostly we need to just keep him contained, and if we just do our job, we are going to be all right,” Glasker said.

Both teams will be without their best running backs, as Wyoming’s Harrison Waylee and BYU’s LJ Martin are sidelined with injuries. BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Wyo’s offense is still capable of exploding for a big game, after a rocky start.

“They are tough guys up front,” said Hill, who will call plays from the press box after suffering a heart attack on Aug. 29. “They have not been necessarily rolling, putting up big numbers yet. … But they are a wounded dog right now, and we better be ready to go, because they have got great coaches, they have got good players, and they have got good schemes. So we gotta be ready for their best shot.”

BYU coaches have told their guys to remember what happened in an opener last year, when the Big 12′s Texas Tech went into Laramie as a 13-point favorite and was stunned 35-33 by the Pokes in double-overtime. Texas Tech took a quick 17-0 lead, but Wyoming roared back.

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, a former BYU receiver and Utah assistant, said he’s seen firsthand how well Wyoming plays at home.

“First of all, every game in college football is huge. There is so much riding on every game. And you have to approach every single week the same way. And then going into Laramie, I have been trying to impress upon these guys what a (tough place that is). We are going to get their very, very best,” Roderick said. “They will play their best and their fans will be into it. This will be a hostile environment. … I have been up there a number of times, been in some really tough, dogfight games. … So I have been trying to make sure our players understand what they are up against.”

Roderick said Wyoming’s defense wasn’t totally to blame for Arizona State putting up 48 points on them in the opener in Tempe.

“I just go historically on how they have been. It is the same defense they have been running, and they are very good at it. Everyone is in their gap. Everyone knows what they are doing. They are very disciplined and tough, physically tough,” Roderick said. “They have a good defense.”

BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff proved he can win on the road last week at SMU, improving late in the game after committing three turnovers. Retzlaff grew up in Southern California and admits he knew nothing about the BYU-Wyoming rivalry until this week. The Jewish QB was not in the program yet when BYU beat Wyoming 38-24 in Provo in 2022.

“It is a storied rivalry from the Mountain West days, and I know there is a good likelihood this is the last time we are going up there. So I am excited to go up there. They are a tough, physical team. They always play us tough,” Retzlaff said. “And so I am excited to go up there and go kick their butt.”