Nowhere to a Bridge

Here in Massachusetts, we may be dysfunctional leftists, but at least we aren’t as bad as Rhode Island.

I was roaming around YouTube and was spoon-fed this story about the replacement of the Washington Bridge in Providence. This isn’t a little bridge. It’s the westbound half of I-195, and is estimated to cost $300 million dollars. The are two RFPs (Request For Proposals). One for demolition and the other for replacement.

I am used to the bidding process, only not on this scale. The state notified 2,172 vendors. Notification isn’t unusual. What is strange is the number of notifications. I think they even asked the local flower shop, considering the number of requests. Sixty-seven companies downloaded the plans. There were fifty-two submitted questions. Nobody submitted a bid.

They have a tight schedule and are offering up to a $10M bonus for early completion. That also means a $10M penalty when you’re late. Governor McKee promised a “Day of Reckoning” for anyone already involved in the bridge project leading up to its closure. There are two law firms under a contingency fee arrangement earning 17% of any damages awarded.

By bidding for this project you have to know the lawsuits will begin against you immediately.

One time I bid and won a controls job for the DHS on the Canadian border. I knew they were going to be a big pain, so I threw an extra 25% on it. For what they put me through I should have doubled it. A pump was undersized and burnt itself out. I didn’t design the system, I just did the controls. On jobs like this, I import the entire specification as text into my program. I then write the code under each paragraph. Many times the spec is contradictory or redundant. My job is not to be creative, but to regurgitate the written word into code.

When this pump burnt out they wanted me to pay for its replacement. I asked them to show me what I did wrong. They couldn’t. What they did say was, “The intent was…,” and they also implied they have a team of lawyers waiting and I will lose. I will never bid on another DHS job again, even at double the price.

I went to my first WooSox game the other night. The WooSox are the Worcester Red Sox. They moved here from Pawtucket, RI in 2021, where they were known as the PawSox. The state paid an exorbitant amount of money to mow down a dilapidated section of Worcester to build Polar Park. The ballpark is very nice but they have a lawn section where the Green Monstah is supposed to be.

The ballpark is a huge improvement to the city. The local restaurant scene has greatly improved. How did Pawtucket manage to lose such a money-maker? The PawSox have been threatening to leave for years, yet Rhode Island did nothing about it.

I’m only dumping on that little state because I know this bureaucracy will happen here, and the rest of the country isn't far behind.

I feel I have to say something nice about my little neighbor to the south. Um, Wright's Chicken Farm is amazingly delicious. Also, the Nordic Lodge has an all-you-can-eat buffet including steak, lobster, and anything else you can think of for only $135 per person. Hint: Don't eat for three days before and after. You can hide your yacht here to avoid Massachusetts state taxes like John Kerry does. That’s all I can come up with.

What does this say about our society when nobody wants to build a bridge at any cost? I miss the days when projects were double and triple what they should have been. At least they got done. Now we are going nowhere.