Woodrow Wilson Bridge
Virginia/Maryland
Originally estimated to cost $450 million to $500 million, the project received just one bid - at a price of $860 million!
The project’s bridge superstructure contract was temporarily subjected to a union-favoring PLA requirement by former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening (D). Originally estimated to cost $450 million to $500 million, in Dec. 2001 the Wilson Bridge’s superstructure contract received just one bid at a price of $860 million—more than $370 million more than engineering estimates, a 78 percent cost overrun.
How it failed
The PLA was subjected to a legal challenge and related controversy involving the White House and elected officials in Maryland and Virginia.
Eventually, the Wilson Bridge superstructure project was rebid without the government-mandated PLA into three smaller bid packages.
In Oct. 2002, multiple bids were received on each of the smaller contracts by union and nonunion firms, and the winning bids came in significantly below the engineering estimates.
While the bridge was delayed more than a year for re-bidding, it was eventually completed below the original budget and completed on time.
