We’ve been asking for your questions about the Washington Bridge as part of our project Breaking Point: The Washington Bridge. This time, political reporter Ian Donnis responds to a question from community member Kathleen T., who asks: Is the remaining portion of the bridge strong enough to support all the increased traffic on it?
The westbound side of the bridge was closed in December 2023 – what have state officials said about the safety of the eastbound side?
Ian Donnis: The eastbound lanes were designed to carry three lanes, and now they’ve been carrying six. Governor Dan McKee and State Transportation Director Peter Alviti staged a news conference in January to address this issue.
They said there had been no significant damage to the eastbound lanes, although some minor repairs were necessary. They also outlined steps taken to ensure the integrity of the bridge. They said they had doubled up on the number of engineering firms reviewing the situation — what they call a “belt and suspenders” approach.
They also outlined the implementation of weight monitoring equipment to examine the weight of traffic going over the bridge, and that information is now posted publicly on the Rhode Island Department of Transportation website.
How much stock can we put in Alviti and McKee’s assessment?
Donnis: Gov. McKee said he inherited a bridge that was problematic, and that despite the best efforts, it could not be known about that until it got to the point where it was an emergency. But … there is a trust deficit, at least on the part of some Rhode Islanders.
Have other experts weighed in?
Donnis: Ken Block, who is not an engineer, although he is a software expert, and Casey Jones from out of state, who is an engineer, have offered some views. You can look up Casey Jones on YouTube and see his video critiques of the situation. I think by and large, this gets into some very technical data that is beyond the ability of laypeople to really analyze, and for the time being, although there is some heightened traffic on the bridges, things are working a lot better than when the situation first happened.
This story is part of Breaking Point: The Washington Bridge, a community-centered project from Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio.
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