Did RIDOT Ignore Its Noise Policy on Washington Bridge Demo? Smiley Signed Off on Overnight Work

Did RIDOT Ignore Its Noise Policy on Washington Bridge Demo? Smiley Signed Off on Overnight Work

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is paying a bonus of $3 million to Aetna Bridge to demolish the failed westbound Washington Bridge by next March.

Aetna has been awarded a number of RIDOT contracts in recent months — it was the high bidder on each of the contracts. 

The race to demolish the bridge and the bonus payment seem to be a bit of a fool’s errand, as the state has yet to secure a contractor to build the replacement and RIDOT is not likely to award a contract for months.

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As GoLocal reported Tuesday, residents in the Fox Point neighborhood including Lanre Akinsiku and his eight-month-pregnant wife were rocked by the sound of the demolition of the Washington Bridge that started on Sunday night, and it continues five nights a week.

"It's a nightmare," Akinsiku said.

“We were not ready for it. Three hydraulic demolition hammers started up at about 9:30 p.m. Our house started shaking, and we measured about 85 decibels on our iPhone app,” said Akinsiku.

 

Did RIDOT Ignore Its Own Noise Ordinance?

In a letter from RIDOT official Lori Fisette to State Representative Chris Blazejewski dated August 22, 2024, it was stated, "The Contractor [Aetna] is required to comply with the Department's Noise Abatement Policy. The loudest noise and concussive generating activity is expected to be the use of excavator-mounted hydraulic demolition hammers. As best as possible, we will schedule the use of this equipment during the daytime hours."

And Frisette promised in the letter, “1. Coordinate meetings with stakeholders.

2. Host a meeting for interested neighborhood groups, businesses, professional groups, and other organizations.”

But none of the promises were fulfilled. The neighbors said they were never notified by RIDOT, the City of Providence, or their elected officials.

A spokesperson for RIDOT, Charles St. Martin, wrote in an email to GoLocal, “In a letter to the Representative, we outlined some outreach efforts and other steps we planned to take related to this project. While RIDOT did announce the night work 48 hours before it began, project management did not host meetings with interested groups in advance of that demolition.”

“Our project management division made the decision in an effort to expedite the project. RIDOT does intend on having those meetings regarding the rest of the work to be done. We will coordinate with both cities to schedule a virtual public meeting by the end of September.  We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused,” St. Martin wrote.

Further, it appears that RIDOT and the project are in violation of the agency’s noise abatement policy.

The policy implemented in 2019, states in part:

The overall noise abatement benefits must outweigh the overall adverse social, economic, and environmental effects and the costs of the abatement measures. Reasonableness should be based on a number of factors with regard to the individual specific needs of each project. The following factors must be considered in evaluating the reasonableness of a noise barrier installation:

Viewpoints of Affected Residents and Property Owners

The Department must first determine that a proposed noise barrier is feasible and meets all other applicable criteria for reasonableness described within this policy. Before the Department proceeds with the final design of a proposed noise barrier, it shall solicit written viewpoints regarding the proposed barrier from all property owners and residents of the benefited receptors. The Department shall consider the viewpoints of the property owners and residents of the benefited receptors when determining whether the proposed barrier is reasonable.

 

Smiley Signed Off on the Overnight Demolition

According to Smiley’s office, “We know that this demolition will unfortunately have a temporary negative impact on our neighbors in this area but we also know that if the necessary construction taking place on the bridge was conducted during the day our community would be faced with even more significant traffic congestion in this neighborhood as it would necessitate the closure of Gano Street. As soon as the City became aware of this construction, we began to notify the community of the expected timeline. RIDOT has assured the City that the current phase of night construction will be completed within a couple of weeks.”

When asked why the Mayor’s office did not ensure that noise abatement and community input was included, Smiley’s office said, “It is our understanding that the Department of Transportation will be conducting engagement around this construction in the impacted communities but they are best positioned to speak to it. The preference for construction that requires closing major entrances and exits to the city is for it to be done overnight, whenever possible.”

The frustration remains for Fox Point residents as their concerns continue to be ignored and the pounding continues.