The Washington Bridge will be in the spotlight again Thursday afternoon at the Rhode Island Statehouse, when members of the House and Senate Oversight committees plan to question Rhode Island Department of Transportation officials. And this time they’ll be under oath.
The session marks the first time lawmakers will publicly question officials since an audit emerged in September on the process of closing the Washington Bridge. The report commissioned by the state suggested that the state officials should have been aware of the problems that eventually led to the bridge’s abrupt closure in December 2023.
Here are a few top questions ahead of the meeting.
1. Will this hearing offer any more insight into what went wrong with the Washington Bridge?
In one significant change, witnesses will testify under oath. That puts more teeth into the process, since lying under oath could bring a perjury charge. Also, Zachary Cunha, now a lawyer with Nixon Peabody and formerly the state’s top federal prosecutor, will lead the initial questioning and assist lawmakers.
An Oversight hearing last February provided little in the way of new information about the bridge. At that point, the state’s pending lawsuit against 13 bridge contractors was cited for why Peter Alviti, director of the state Department of Transportation, couldn’t answer many specific questions about the bridge crisis and why it happened. But the audit released in September found that state officials could and should have known about the problems leading to the emergency closing of the westbound bridge in December 2023.
2. Will the audit lead to any fresh revelations?
Who knew what, when, and who was responsible? These are central questions regarding the Washington Bridge saga. The audit released in September cited “program managers, bridge inspectors and designers” as those who could and should have known about the developing crisis with the bridge. Will we learn any more about what specifically Transportation Department officials knew and why more wasn’t done to keep the bridge in top shape? The audit also recommended reviewing other bridges with the same complex design as the westbound Washington Bridge. Has the state made any progress on that?
3. What we will learn about the process of replacing the bridge?
For example, why did the state set an initial August 2026 deadline for completing a new westbound bridge — a timeline so aggressive that it didn’t attract any bids? State officials plan to open a new bridge in November 2028. Why is it taking so long to replace the bridge? With the bridge a daily headache for many, the ongoing construction is a visceral reminder.
4. How are the state’s other bridges doing?
RIDOT Director Peter Alviti tends to describe the Washington Bridge as an outlier as the state moves forward with upgrading other spans. In May, RIDOT said that of 435 bridge projects started since the launch of RhodeWorks under former Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2016, more than 300 have been completed. And RIDOT points to the use of monitoring equipment to ensure that the eastbound Washington Bridge can safely carry extra traffic while the westbound bridge is replaced.
5. Is Rhode Island moving any closer to the accountability promised by Gov. Dan McKee?
The governor has tried to shift blame for the Washington Bridge by saying he inherited a broken bridge. But the cost of the replacement project and the time needed to do it have climbed on McKee’s watch. The governor continues to say that accountability will come in the form of the state’s lawsuit against 13 bridge contractors. But the resolution of that case will not come until after the next election for governor, with its September 2026 primary.
McKee has continued to stand by RIDOT Director Alviti, asserting that Alviti is leading an effort to upgrade deficient bridges. The political subtext is that Alviti formerly worked for an arm of the Laborers International Union, which remains an important force in statewide elections. Alviti was one of the first state directors hired by former Gov. Raimondo when she took office in 2015 and she acknowledged discussing that with one or more labor leaders. McKee has wrestled with low approval ratings and the bridge remains a significant issue as he faces a primary challenge next September from fellow Democrat Helena Foulkes.
