Rhode Island public works bidding requirements
Summary of record
- Competitive bidding threshold (public work)
- Competitive bidding
- Governing statute
- R.I. Gen. Laws §37-13
- Award standard
- Lowest responsible bidder
- Multiple-prime required?
- No statewide mandate
- Prevailing wage
- $1,000 or more
- Addenda distribution
- To all bidders
Competitive bidding threshold
Public works are competitively bid; state contracts are procured through the Division of Purchases, and any call for bids over $1,000 must include prevailing-wage provisions.
Award standard
Contracts go to the lowest responsible bidder.
Multiple-prime contracts
Rhode Island has no statewide multiple-prime mandate. Unlike New York's Wicks Law or Pennsylvania's Separations Act, a single general contract is permitted.
Prevailing wage
Prevailing wage applies whenever $1,000 or more in state or municipal funds is used on public works, under R.I. Gen. Laws §37-13 — one of the lowest thresholds in the country.1
Document distribution & addenda
Rhode Island DOT §102.09 makes all revisions — including the bid opening date — by numbered, dated addenda posted for all bidders on the state's RIVIP purchasing website.3
Record of change
Rhode Island's prevailing-wage threshold is just $1,000 in public funds (R.I. Gen. Laws §37-13) — among the lowest anywhere, so it applies to nearly all public works.
-
Verified
Added document-distribution source: Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction §102.09.
-
Verified
Page created and verified against R.I. Gen. Laws §37-13 and the RI DLT prevailing-wage program.
Sources
- 1. Rhode Island General Assembly — R.I. Gen. Laws §37-13 (public works wages). rilegislature.gov
- 2. RI Dept. of Labor & Training — Prevailing wage program and FAQ. dlt.ri.gov
- 3. Rhode Island DOT (RIDOT) — Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction §102.09. www.dot.ri.gov
Frequently asked
- What is Rhode Island's prevailing-wage threshold?
- $1,000 — prevailing wage applies whenever $1,000 or more in state or municipal funds is used on public works (R.I. Gen. Laws §37-13), one of the lowest thresholds in the country.
- How is public works construction procured in Rhode Island?
- By competitive bidding — state contracts through the Division of Purchases; calls for bids over $1,000 must include prevailing-wage provisions.
- Does Rhode Island require multiple-prime contracts?
- No. Rhode Island has no statewide multiple-prime mandate, unlike New York (Wicks Law) or Pennsylvania (Separations Act).
Brought to you by Biddy™, the platform of record for public works bid package management.
Rhode Island makes every revision by addendum posted for all bidders on RIVIP. Biddy handles distribution, planholder tracking, and every addendum on the record. Free for agencies and A&E firms.
Browse open Rhode Island public works bids, join planholder lists, and get every addendum the moment it's posted so you never bid on stale plans.