Rhode Island will reportedly receive $125 million in federal grant money to help replace the troubled Washington Bridge.
The westbound side of the bridge was abruptly shut down over safety concerns last December. Gov. Dan McKee said in March that the bridge would need to be demolished and replaced.
NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR reports the state will be getting $125,390,467 through the “Mega grant” portion of the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program, according to a joint release from the Rhode Island Delegation and the governor.
The amount is nearly $100 million less than the $220.9 million that McKee had advocated for in Washington, D.C. last week, but McKee and Sen. Jack Reed are still calling the grant money a "win" for the state, according to WJAR.
"That's a big win for Rhode Island, and it shows confidence that the Biden administration has in in our office, as well as the state of Rhode Island," McKee said, adding that he'll continue to advocate for more federal funding.
"It's a very positive sign," Reed said. "This mega-grant of $125 million is a good down payment, but we're going to continue after thanking the secretary, to urge that we receive additional funds and I'm optimistic that can be accomplished."
WJAR reports that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation is estimating the cost of the project to be over $470 million, including $58.2 million to demolish the bridge and $368.3 million for the design and building process. Another $46 million would be for other emergency expenses.
Rhode Island House Speaker Joe Shekarchi tells WJAR that the state put $83.7 million in this year's budget for this.
"We always knew the state's going to have to contribute to this as well," he said. "So we're going to do our part and we're going continue to work with our federal partners."
Shekarchi said he didn't expect to get the entire amount the state asked for, adding that these grants are competitive.
"It's not like they keep this money and they give it whenever they want to," he told WJAR. "There are many other states and many other interests throughout the country looking for federal money as well. "
