Rhode Island is set to receive over $125 million in federal grant money to help replace the Washington Bridge.
The state is getting $125,390,467 through the “Mega grant” portion of the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program, according to Turnto10.com.
The amount is nearly $100 million less than the 220.9 million Gov. Daniel McKee travelled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for earlier in the month.
McKee and Sen. Jack Reed still characterized the decision as a "win" for the state.
"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.
They said they'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."
The westbound side of the Washington Bridge was abruptly closed in December of 2023 due to structural concerns. Since then, some Rhode Islanders have faced major disruptions in traffic and business.
Current estimates from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation put the project's price tag over $470 million.
That includes $58.2 million for demolishing the bridge, $368.3 million for the design and building process, and another $46 million for other emergency expenses.
The federal government typically pays for 80% of these types of projects and the other 20% is up to the state.
"I will tell you the state put $83.7 million in this year's budget aside for this," said Joe Shekarchi, Rhode Island House Speaker, in a statement. " We always knew the state's going to have to contribute to this as well. So, we're going to do our part and we're going continue to work with our federal partners."
Source: Turnto10.com, NECN.com
