McKee’s Office Refuses to Answer Questions About Alviti’s Status on Washington Bridge Failure

McKee’s Office Refuses to Answer Questions About Alviti’s Status on Washington Bridge Failure

Governor Dan McKee announced on Monday morning that he is sending a staffer over to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to provide oversight “for all operations related to the Washington Bridge.”

 

“Today, we are announcing that the Governor has dispatched Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Almond to RIDOT and charged him with providing oversight and cross-agency coordination for all operations related to the Washington Bridge. Joe has a background in both municipal leadership and public safety that will position him well for this role,” said McKee’s Olivia DaRocha Press Secretary.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

But, McKee’s office refuses to answer multiple GoLocal questions as to who is in charge of the response now to RIDOT’s Washington Bridge failure.

With Almond going to provide “oversight” at RIDOT, what is Alviti’s role? GoLocal has asked McKee's office repeatedly.

Almond, before joining McKee, served as the Town Administrator of Lincoln. He joined McKee in March of 2021 in the role of deputy chief of staff.

The Washington Bridge westbound was closed on December 11. Alviti and McKee initially announced that bridge repair would be completed in three months.

More recently, Alviti said the Washington Bridge may need to be replaced.

McKee has rebuffed complaints by commuters of the impact of the closure of Washington Bridge. McKee has repeatedly stated that RIDOT Washington Bridge failure has only added 10 to 15 minutes to the commute.