PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The state-ordered pause to the demolition of the failed Washington Bridge earlier this year will cost Rhode Island taxpayers nearly $700,000, Target 12 has learned.

Rhode Island is paying the money to the state's demolition contractor, Aetna Bridge Co., for the four-week halt that started on Sept. 17, according to an addendum to the state's existing contract with the company. The $695,300 total comes to about $25,000 per day.

The pause started just weeks after demolition had begun because the state's legal team decided it wanted to preserve potential evidence tied to an ongoing lawsuit.

The state is suing 13 companies over the failure of the I-195 westbound bridge, which has been closed for a year. The span carried roughly 90,000 vehicles a day prior to the shutdown.

Aetna, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, will receive the new money on top of its existing demolition contract, initially awarded in June at a price tag of $45.8 million.

Overall projected demolition costs soared to nearly $100 million in October, however, after the state expanded the project to include demolition of the bridge's substructure. Aetna's contract currently accounts for more than 80% of the demolition budget.

The state is suing the companies with the hope of clawing back some of the millions of dollars it's spent on the Washington Bridge over the past 15 years.

At least three defendants other than Aetna are currently working on the bridge, according to a monthly report that the R.I. Department of Transportation provides to lawmakers.

As part of the amended contract with Aetna, the state is now expecting the demolition of the bridge's superstructure to be substantially completed by Feb 21. It was originally scheduled for Jan. 29.

Demolition of the substructure is scheduled to be mostly done by Dec. 15, 2025, according to the report.