PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — It’s been a year since The Rhode Island Department of Transportation made the decision to close the westbound side of the Washington Bridge. At the time, RIDOT’s Director Peter Alviti said that in the process of reconstructing the bridge, consultants found “urgent safety issues” that could cause a “critical deficiency on this side of the bridge.” “We are closing the westbound side until we can make it completely safe,” he said at the time. Since then, demolition of the bridge has started, businesses in East Providence have closed, a legal battle has begun, and two companies have been chosen to reconstruct the bridge. Photos from under the Washington Bridge shared back on Dec. 12 showed several steel rods and concrete support pillars sheared down and bouncing under the load of cars traveling over them. During a press conference that day, RIDOT officials said that navigating the plethora of traffic “was a work in progress,” and the state was actively working with businesses that were effected by the closure. A year later, and at a press conference yesterday, Governor Dan McKee said that “we have to continue to have patience, and have confidence that we’re going to work on a schedule that is going to be quicker, I believe, in the end than most bridge constructions in the area or even in the state.” McKee, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and the state’s outside legal team announced over the summer that a lawsuit had been filed against 13 companies that provided design, construction and inspection services related to the Washington Bridge. The suit was filed in part to hold the companies accountable and to “recover the significant resources required to rebuild the bridge and compensate the State.” After no companies submitted bids to construct the bridge, and McKee administration’s picked Aetna Bridge Co. to demolish the bridge, the state made the decision to try again, this time with a two-step procurement process. Two companies were chosen yesterday that will compete for a contract to construct the bridge, the companies includes American Bridge Company of Pennsylvania with MLJ Corporation of New York and Wash Construction Company. “This is all good news for Rhode Island, the progress that is being made and the timelines that are being met, and we expect that we are going to continue to report back,” Governor Dan McKee said. “Both of these companies with the expertise and the consulting companies they bring into their team are more than capable,” RIDOT Director Peter Alviti said. “We’re looking for a bridge to be built for 100 years.” The state has also given millions of dollars to businesses effected by the closure of the Washington Bridge, through the Washington Bridge Small Business Grant Program. Categories: News