Washington
Two contenders chosen to pursue Washington Bridge rebuild • Rhode Island Current
Almost one year to the day traffic was permanently halted on the westbound Washington Bridge, state officials announced they have narrowed down the choice of who will replace it to two finalists.
Vying for the state’s contract are the American Bridge-MLJ joint venture, a partnership between firms based respectively in Pennsylvania and New York, and Chicago-based Walsh Construction Company II, Gov. Dan McKee revealed at a State House press conference Tuesday.
“This is good news, and it’s timely,” McKee said.
McKee was joined by Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti, Jr. and East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva for an hour-long press conference about the next steps for the span connecting East Providence to Providence.
State officials halted all traffic on the westbound section of Interstate 195 on Dec. 11, 2023, after engineers discovered broken anchor rods that put the Washington Bridge at risk of collapse. At the time, the bridge carried about 96,000 vehicles a day over the Seekonk River.
McKee’s administration struggled earlier in the year after an initial request for proposals to replace the bridge drew no proposals from any firm. State officials went back to the drawing board to assemble a request for information and a subsequent request for qualifications from would-be bidders. That delayed the timeline, but McKee portrayed the move as necessary to attract “highly-qualified” companies for the high-profile project.
American Bridge Co., of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, most recently built the San Francisco Oakland Bay suspension bridge. The company’s bid partner, MLJ Contracting Corporation of Great Neck, New York, has worked on restoring the Brooklyn Bridge and was awarded a $79 million contract last June to construct the Port Authority Command Center at the World Trade Center.
The other finalist, Walsh Construction Company of Chicago, worked on the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge on Interstate 95 over the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, Connecticut, along with the Interstate 90 Westbound Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland.
Four bidders in all
Four prospective bidders in all responded to the request for qualifications issued in mid-October.
Not chosen to advance were Halmar International LLC of New York and a joint venture of New York-based Skanska and Aetna Bridge Co. of Warwick. Aetna has the state’s nearly $100 million contract to demolish the westbound bridge.
Alviti told reporters the two finalists will now start meeting with RIDOT officials to develop the scope of the project. The next step will be to formally issue a request for proposals, scheduled for Dec. 18.
Asked what the new timeline and expected cost for a new bridge will be, Alviti said those details will come out of the bidding process.
Estimates last May pegged the rebuild cost at $368 million and was scheduled to be done by 2026 — a timeline both Alviti and McKee acknowledged was too aggressive and likely led to the lack of bids at the time.
“I’m not going to make any predictions on what these companies are capable of,” Alviti said Tuesday. “Let’s wait and see.”
RIDOT expects to award a final contract by June 6, Alviti said.
Time is money, so even the loser wins
The losing finalist will receive $1.75 million to cover costs associated with bidding on the project — an incentive state officials placed to generate interest in the latest bidding process.
Aetna began demolishing the bridge in September, but work was paused for nearly a month to allow state investigators to document its condition as part of the state’s lawsuit against 13 firms that previously worked on it. Work resumed on Oct. 11 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
“It’s been a long road with more than a few bumps in it,” Alviti said. “Ultimately, the people of Rhode Island will have a brand new bridge that will be completely safe, it will be efficient, and it will last 100 years.”
McKee also used Tuesday’s press conference to reflect on the year since phones across Rhode Island blared with an emergency alert announcing the Washington Bridge’s closure — during afternoon rush hour no less. The governor apologized for the inconvenience the commuter crisis caused.
“I know that, and I’m sorry you had to go through this, but it was necessary,” McKee said.
“Like you, I certainly wish I had known sooner than Dec. 11 that the bridge had serious issues,” he added. “Like you, I wish I had known right away that no amount of repair work would be enough to salvage the existing bridge.”
I’m not going to make any predictions on what these companies are capable of. Let’s wait and see.
– Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti
As the westbound bridge closed, gridlock immediately overwhelmed the streets of East Providence. But since the state opened three lanes of travel over both directions of the eastbound bridge in April, Mayor DaSilva downplayed the impact on motorists.
“Traffic has begun to move through the city like it did before,” DaSilva said
McKee said he understands some of the criticism that’s been levied against his administration, but said some of it is unwarranted. He also maintained that no state employee deserved to be fired because of the bridge emergency.
“That might not be the answer that some people want,” McKee said. “They want to see heads rolling. But I’m not going to do that just because of the politics of it and the optics of it.”
Accountability, the governor argued, will come about from the state’s ongoing lawsuit officially filed Aug. 16. The state accuses the 13 defendants of a sweeping set of contract breaches and negligence over decades when contractors failed to detect or report structural problems ahead of the bridge’s abrupt closure.
Defendants in October asked the Providence Superior Court to throw out the state’s lawsuit, claiming McKee’s administration is using the case to shift blame. Motion to dismiss are scheduled to be heard by Judge Brian Stern on Jan. 21, 2025.
McKee, who last March promised a “day of reckoning” will come for taxpayers who have footed the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bridge work, said he’s confident the case will not be tossed.
“Just like we prevailed in court last week with the truck toll case, I believe our efforts to hold parties accountable for the bridge failure will be successful,” he said.
McKee was referring to the Dec. 6 decision by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston that allows the state to reinstate its RhodeWorks program tolls for tractor trailers and other large semi trucks using state highways and bridges. The governor said he is still reviewing the decision and is planning to meet with legislative leaders about reactivating tolls across Rhode Island.
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Washington
Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say
Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.
The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.
According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.
Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.
A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.
Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.
The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.
Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.
Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.
Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.
The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.
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Washington
Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors
Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.
Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.
Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.
“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”
RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions
House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.
Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.
The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.
“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”
Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.
The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.
Washington
Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid
Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)
Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.
The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.
The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.
The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.
Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.
Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.
INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).
Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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