Alviti Admits “Complete Rebuild” of Washington Bridge Possible — Latest in RIDOT Bridge Failure

Alviti Admits “Complete Rebuild” of Washington Bridge Possible — Latest in RIDOT Bridge Failure

Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti said Monday that a “complete rebuild” of the Washington Bridge could be possible, depending on a final analysis of engineers who are currently inspecting the bridge. 

It has now been a month and a half since RIDOT shut down west bound lanes on I-195 in early December due to the bridge failure, disrupting traffic for weeks and hurting businesses across the state. 

“Expert engineers are doing a thorough review of the bridge,” said Alviti on Monday. “The direction we take will be driven by the facts — no final decisions will be made until we have all the facts from the expert engineers.”

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Alviti said that he has been working “24/7” since then.

“They could come in with a number of different scenarios,” said Alviti, of “three scenarios” that engineers could make ranging from a repair of the existing structure, or, he added, “it could be a complete rebuild.”

Alviti could not provide a specific timeline as to when the engineering report will be completed. 

“The engineers working on it are continuing to look at various components of this bridge and that takes time,” said Alviti. “I need them to do a thorough and comprehensive look at every component of that bridge.”

Alviti and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee originally told the public in December that the repairs of the bridge would take three months. 

“I’m not going to speculate on the scope of additional deficiencies they found until we have their complete reporting,” said Alviti of the work being done currently by the engineers. “Likewise with the schedule, depending on the scope of deficiency they find, will determine how long it will take to rebuild.” 

This story was first published 1/22/24 3:15 PM