Firm Sued for Washington Bridge Failure Wins 3 RIDOT Contracts for $210M - Highest Bidder on Each
GoLocalProv News Team
Firm Sued for Washington Bridge Failure Wins 3 RIDOT Contracts for $210M - Highest Bidder on Each
The company — Aetna Bridge — is one of the defendants in the lawsuit that the State of Rhode Island alleges is responsible for the failure of the Washington Bridge.
The Washington Bridge has been closed since December 11, 2023.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIts failure has been tied to financial losses, business closures, job losses and a near-endless decline in productivity for commuters.
But during the time of the closure, one of the companies that attorneys for the State of Rhode Island say helped cause the damage has won three major RIDOT contracts.
In each contract award, Aetna Bridge was the high bidder.
The politically connected firm's executives have donated tens of thousands to top Rhode Island politicians, including Governor Dan McKee, former Governor Gina Raimondo, Speaker Joe Shekarchi, and Democratic candidate Helena Foulkes.
Aetna Bridge is actually named twice in the state’s lawsuit — individually and for its role in a joint venture.
The state claims the company is guilty of negligence and breach of contract.
When McKee was asked about why the state was continuing to award contracts to a company that the state was alleging was responsible in part for the failure of the bridge, he refused to answer the question.
McKee's office said in an email to GoLocal on Wednesday, "While litigation is pending, we are referring all questions about the lawsuit and the accompanying investigation to the attorneys."
GoLocal followed up that the issue was not a legal issue but a policy issue.
McKee's office refused to respond.
Aetna has won three “design-build” contracts since the westbound Washington Bridge failure and closure.
Previous to the appointment of Peter Alviti by Raimondo in 2015, RIDOT contracts were awarded to the lowest-price qualified bidder.
But, under Alviti, the awarding of billions of dollars of contracts was shifted to a process called “design-build” — a process that gives RIDOT tremendous discretion in awarding contracts by allowing them to score elements such as “experience” and “staff qualifications.”
The design-build philosophy is a project delivery method in which one entity—the design-build team—works under a single contract with the project owner to provide both the design and construction services. Alviti sold it as a process that would save money and minimize change orders, but that has not always been the case, as GoLocal unveiled in 2022.
Moreover, in Rhode Island, there is a growing sentiment that the process is being manipulated to direct contracts not to the lowest bidder but to the connected bidder.
Stephen Cardi, the long-time head of the now defunct Cardi Corporation, in an interview with GoLocal in January after the Washington Bridge failed, said the design-build process was being manipulated by Alviti to direct contracts to favored players.
Cardi, in that interview, identified how the process transpired allowing Aetna, VHB, and Barletta, who won the contract to rehab the Washington Bridge, to propose a plan that was flagged by a top engineer. That engineer warned RIDOT that the plan by Aetna, VHB and Barletta would undermine the structural integrity of the Washington Bridge and cause its failure — READ BELOW.
295 Contract - Aetna $2 Million Higher
The 295 Bridge contract was awarded to Aetna Bridge months after the Washington Bridge failed. Aetna was the highest bidder of the three companies who bid — more than $5 million more than the second-ranked company.
The total contract for Aetna and its partner WSP — is $49,333,200.00.
Aetna received scores of 85 for “firm experience” and 90 for “staff qualifications” — this is the same company and team that attorneys for the state of Rhode Island claim are guilty of breach of contract and negligence.
Aetna was awarded the contract over JR Vinagro and Rocchio.
Another win for Aetna.
Washington Bridge Demolition Contract — Aetna Nearly $2 Million Higher
In late June, RIDOT awarded another contract to Aetna Bridge and again the company was the high bidder.
Ironically, the contract Aetna was awarded was for the demolition of Washington Bridge — the very bridge the state alleged that Aetna contributed to its failure.
This time, the competitor for the contract was Manafort, a major national firm with deep experience and a track record in Rhode Island.
The two firms had identical scores for firm experience and staff qualifications — with both Aetna and Manafort scoring 85 in each category.
But Aetna won again despite the higher price — $45,777,000.00 to Manafort’s bid of $43,849,500.00.
Where Aetna won the bid according to the scoring. Aetna’s schedule for the demolition was scored 97 and Manafort a 55. RIDOT wrote in its evaluation, “The Apparent Best Value Respondent, as determined by the above evaluation as specified in the RFP documents, is Aetna Bridge with an overall combined total score of 94.0 (out of 100 maximum). Therefore, we recommend award preparation that will commence outlining all contractual requirements and accepting pricing.”
Another win for Aetna.
Bridge Group 51C - Rt 37, Aetna Wins with a Bid Nearly $3 Million Higher
In July, RIDOT officials again awarded another contract to Aetna, which was for $115,596,200.00. Manfort’s bid was $112,633,698.98.
In this bid, RIDOT officials who had given Manafort and Aetna identical scores for firm experience in the Washington Bridge demo project now changed the scoring in for this project.
In this case, admittedly different scope of work, Aetna’s score jumped from 85 to 90 and Manfort’s score decreased from 85 to 80. And in another category risk management, Aetna scored an 85 and Manafort scored a 50.
Another win for Aetna.
In December, on the night of the bridge closure, GoLocal published documents that unveiled that a top bridge engineer in Connecticut had warned RIDOT years earlier.
Cardi Corporation partnered in bidding for the Washington Bridge rehabilitation work with the Connecticut engineer Michael “Pete” Culmo, who presently is the Chief Bridge Engineer at CHA Consulting in Hebron, Connecticut. Culmo flagged critical issues that were known to RIDOT officials for nearly three years.
Culmo warned in that submission that the design preferred by RIDOT officials had serious technical issues and, due to wear, could cause failure.
Cardi did not mince words about Alviti and Rhode Island Governors Raimondo and McKee for their management failures regarding the Washington Bridge. He says the Washington Bridge is the "aorta" of Rhode Island's transportation system. It is critical to protect the key highways of the system.
“[Culmo said the bridge repair strategy that RIDOT had pursued] would cause those those pins to fail. Culmo is an engineer, you know, a respected engineer — that speaks for itself. I can't argue; no one can argue with the facts,” said Cardi.
Despite the warnings, Alviti awarded the contract to the joint venture of Barletta Heavy Division, VHB and Aetna. The very group that Rhode Island is suing.
In the lawsuit against the three companies, the state writes in its lawsuit filed on Friday:
The Joint Venture breached the 2021 Design-Build Contract by, inter alia, failing to (a) conduct a detailed research and review of the bridge structure file for the Washington Bridge, including but not limited to, previous inspection reports, drawings, and plans; (b) conduct an inspection of the Washington Bridge in conformance with the 2021 Design-Build Contract;
(c) perform evaluations and report to the State as required by the 2021 Design-Build Contract;
(d) recommend needed repairs in accordance with the requirements of the 2021 Design-Build Contract; and (e) otherwise comply with its contractual obligations.
As a direct and proximate result of the Joint Venture's breaches of the 2021 Design- Build Contract, the State has suffered and will continue to suffer both physical damages to its property and economic damages well in excess of the amount necessary to satisfy the jurisdiction of this Court.
Regarding the misleading statements made by Alviti since the Washington Bridge was closed, Cardi said he was worried that it would damage the trust people have.
“Well, even an atheist has to live in faith, because you have faith that the bridges you're going over are safe,” said Cardi in the interview with GoLocal in January.
“It's faith that the building you're walking next to isn't going to fall on you,” he said. “Think about it — it really is 'faith' that those structures or the infrastructure are sound.”
Cardi discussed the convoluted bidding process for the contract to rehab the Washington Bridge, the legal battles, and the rebidding.
He said, “The invitation for proposals [for the second round of bids] on Washington Bridge...[RIDOT] changed the scoring basis from 50/50 to 60% presentation, 40% price. So it was impossible for anybody else to get the job except Barletta [in conjunction with VHB and Aetna].”
When Aetna was asked about RIDOT awarding the company more than $210 million in contracts in recent months and scoring the company highly for their management, and simultaneously suing the firm, Aetna spokesperson Frank McMahon said in an email, "Thank you for your email inquiry. As you noted, there is litigation pending and it would not be appropriate for us to comment at this time."