Contaminated Material at RIDOT 6/10 Construction Site in Providence Moved — See Where
GoLocalProv News Team
Contaminated Material at RIDOT 6/10 Construction Site in Providence Moved — See Where
The transportation of the material marks the latest in the investigation into just how contaminated material was dumped in a Providence neighborhood and spread throughout one of the state’s largest and most expensive public works developments — the 6/10 project.
GoLocal followed trucks removing the soil from the Olneyville neighborhood to a landfill in Clinton, Massachusetts -- a landfill that is under a closure order.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTVirginia Carmona and her family live adjacent to the contaminated material and she tells GoLocal that she hopes they remove the material quickly as the pile is now is emitting odors.
"The pile smells since they started to move it," said Carmona. The family and other neighbors have complained about the material for months. The soil has tested postive for contaminants above legal levels.
Latest 6/10 Development
The removal of the contaminated soil comes two months to the day after RIDOT finallly admitted that the material was contaminated after repeatedly denying charges.
Peter Alviti, Director of RIDOT repeatedly said the soil contained no contaminates, even after he had been notified by RIDEM and alerted by a whistleblower. James White, President of Local 57 of the International Union of Operating Engineers said, “I first brought concerns to Barletta [the state's contractor on the 6/10 project] in July and they did nothing."
Barletta Engineering and Heavy Machine is the lead contractor on the 6/10 project and two other major projects in Rhode Island.
White alerted RIDOT in July and then the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) in August -- the state's environmental regulatory agency.
Documents secured by GoLocalProv.com show that RIDOT knew that Barletta dumped soil in Providence improperly as part of the 6/10 construction project -- a month before GoLocal's first report about possible contamination on the site.
Furthermore, the documents undermine RIDOT and Alviti's statements at the time, which served to mislead the public.
Even after GoLocal unveiled the allegations of contamination, Alviti took to talk radio and attested the material piled next to homes by the construction site was clean.
Communications show that RIDOT knew that material had been improperly moved to the Providence neighborhood, according to documents secured by GoLocal, and RIDOT had in fact instructed Barletta to remove the soil material more than five weeks earlier.
Months after RIDOT was warned about the material, Alviti went on a radio talk show and misled listeners.
“So basically we've proven that the fill that was brought in is OK, but we're concerned and I think the investigation is going to continue, because we're concerned that another agenda is going on here. We don't know what it is,” said Alviti on the Gene Valicenti radio show, two days after the first GoLocal investigative story — a series that has sparked both state and federal investigations, including a federal grand jury.
Clinton officials told GoLocal that they had approved the transfer.
"The Town of Clinton is aware of the soils coming into our landfill from Rt. 6 in Providence. We are also aware that the soil is contaminated. The Clinton landfill is permitted to bring in contaminated contour soil to grade the slopes prior to capping the landfill. The soil in question was tested and meets the criteria required for use at our landfill," said Chris McGown, Superintendent of Public Works for the town, who manages the landfill.
SLIDES: See Photos of Material Being Removed -- BELOW
RIDEM confirmed the removal of the material.
“The soil is going to the landfill in Clinton, Massachusetts,” Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) spokesperson Mike Healey told GoLocal.
“DEM gave approval to RIDOT to remove it conditioned on their finding a suitable location,” he continued. “RIDOT’s contractor started moving the material at 6 AM [on Monday]."
“It's a total of around 1,600 cubic yards of material,” Healey added.
As GoLocal reported, on November 4, DEM investigators with a court-ordered search warrant were on site at the Pawtucket/Central Falls Train Station property — a RIDOT project site that material was removed from and shipped to the Providence location.
At the center of the investigation is the contractor on both the 6/10 project and the development of the Pawtucket/Central Falls Train Station — combined the Canton, Massachusetts contractor in just the past nearly three years, Barletta has been awarded $349 million in contracts.
Barletta is part of the 6-10 CONSTRUCTORS JOINT VENTURE and secured $247,630,000 for the 6/10 improvement project awarded in late 2017; also in 2018 Barletta was awarded the Pawtucket/Central Falls Commuter Rail Station and Bus Hub, which was $35,796,000. Earlier this year Barletta was awarded the Bridge Group 49 - Henderson Bridge project for $65,964,000 — bringing Barletta's total to $349,390,000.
GoLocal unveiled that in a RI DEM email, it showed that the agency had ordered in July of 2020 that RIDOT ensure that Barletta remove materials brought from the Pawtucket/Central Falls Train Station project to the Providence neighborhood.
6/10 Contaminated Material Removal -- GoLocal Tracked the Trucks to MA, November 16, 2020
Contractor Barletta began to remove the soil from the Plainfield Street site five months after it was piled into the Olneyville neighborhood.
Barletta staff were onsite removing the plastic covering over the contaminated material.
Barletta trucks were onsite during the removal on Monday.
Providence police detail was on duty onsite.
Barletta began to fill dozens of trucks for shipment to Clinton Landfill.
It will take more than 50 truckloads to remove the contaminated materail.
1,600 Cubic yards are being removed from the site.
Trucks Traveled North to 146 through Worcester and north to Clinton.
The Clinton Landfill is under a state closure order and is using the contaminated soil as cover.
Cost of disposal of the 1,600 cubic yards is $25 per ton which totals less than $40,000.
