More than a month after the westbound side of the Washington Bridge was abruptly closed to traffic, officials were still determining if the bridge could be repaired or must be completely rebuilt, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti said Monday during a press conference.
“It could be a repair of the existing structure, although extensive,” Alviti told reporters. “It could be a reconstruction of various components of the bridge structure. Or it could be a complete rebuild of the entire bridge.”
Alviti said engineers and consultants were evaluating the bridge that carries Interstate 195 between East Providence and Providence, and that officials would eventually determine a plan and a timeline.
When RIDOT closed the bridge in December, Alviti said repairing the bridge would take “at least three months.” RIDOT opened bypass lanes on the eastbound side of the bridge – which is not affected by the deficiencies – to move some drivers across. But traffic is often stalled throughout the I-95 and I-195 interchange area in Providence and East Providence, with drivers from the East Bay still reporting long commutes thanks to delays.
Alviti also said engineers were inspecting other bridges across the state “to make sure that none of them contain the kind of critical elements that this particular bridge did.”
Jeremy Bernfeld can be reached at jbernfeld@thepublicsradio.org.
