EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — It has been the same story for the past six months since the closure of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge. “It takes 25-35 minutes to go from Elmwood Avenue to Riverside now which used to take me 15 minutes,” Cathy La Salle of East Providence said. “So it’s double the time. I find at the end of every day I’m dreading going home.” Wednesday’s deadline for bids on the reconstruction project seemed like a chance to take a step in the right direction. “They’ve done the examinations, they know what’s wrong with the bridge,” Britt Connell of Warwick said. “So it was kind of getting to be hopeful of the fact that we can maybe see a light at the end of the tunnel, and now that light is completely gone again.” The announcement that no company put in a bid loomed large over East Providence’s Fourth of July celebrations. “I’m disappointed like everyone else,” East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva said. “You want to see the project move along as quickly as possible. I’m assured that the DOT will put out a new RFP, and hopefully, more people will consider applying.” A Rhode Island Department of Transportation spokesperson released a statement, saying in part: “The State purposely chose an aggressive project timeline…with the goal of completing the bridge rebuild as quickly as possible … We will now be reviewing and potentially adjusting factors affecting contractor participation to the RFP before rebidding the project.” Residents still have their fair share of questions regarding the situation. “I don’t know why you would put out the bids if you expected nobody would respond,” La Salle said. “That’s incredulous to me. I just wish they’d fix it.” Categories: News, Providence, Rhode Island