UPDATED: Demolition of Washington Bridge Shut Down

UPDATED: Demolition of Washington Bridge Shut Down

Work on the demolition of the failed Washington Bridge has been stopped, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge.

 

At about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, union workers assigned to the project were told to stop work and that work would not continue until next week.

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According to two people with direct knowledge the order to stop work came from the Rhode Island Attorney General’s and it relates the the preservation of evidence.

 

As GoLocal previously reported, the company that was the high bidder to demolish the Washington Bridge is also being sued by the state of Rhode Island.

 

There are also questions about whether Aetna got yet another contract or a multi-million change order to the demolition contract to preserve evidence. The evidence that would be used to build a case against Aetna and the other companies.

 

Hours after GoLocal first reported the story, the attorney general's office issued the following statement, "The engineers for RIDOT, in cooperation with the state’s legal team, have reached the point in the demolition of the Washington Bridge where work must be paused to preserve evidence for the legal case. The goal is to be able to continue demolition as swiftly as possible while ensuring important evidence is preserved."

UPDATED: 7:05 PM