A critical Rhode Island bridge will need to be demolished and replaced

A critical bridge in Rhode Island that was partially closed in December due to safety concerns will have to be demolished and replaced, Gov. Dan McKee said Thursday.

An independent investigation of the Washington Bridge — which carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River from Providence to East Providence and serves as a major gateway to Providence — has identified additional structural deficiencies that require it to be replaced, McKee said at a press conference this afternoon.

The state must replace all or part of the bridge’s superstructure and substructure, he said.

“We’re going to fix the bridge, we’re going to fix it and we’re going to make sure we keep people safe,” he said.

McKee said his administration is investigating what led to the need to close and replace the bridge.

“We will hold all responsible parties fully accountable,” he said. “The day of reckoning is coming and will come soon.”

Peter Alviti, director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, said the new bridge should be largely complete with traffic flowing between March and September 2026.

The cost of demolishing and replacing the bridge should be between $250 million and $300 million, he said. The state is exploring a range of sources for the funding, including federal grants.

During the demolition and construction of the new bridge, the state will divert six lanes – three in each direction – to the eastbound bridge structure.

Alviti said the eastern bridge is a separate structure. The state had a construction engineering firm determine it was safe to build six lanes — and then had a second engineering firm review the first company’s work to confirm the bridge was safe, he said.

Alviti said the Justice Department is conducting a separate investigation into the need to suddenly close the bridge.

The bridge carries nearly 100,000 vehicles every day.

The sudden westbound closure in mid-December initially wreaked havoc on traffic, turning a 40- to 45-minute drive into several hours, leaving commuters stranded for hours and others deviating from their normal routes. Some schools closed and taught remotely.

The westbound portion of the Washington Bridge, built in 1969, was rated as “poor,” according to the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory released in June.

The overall rating of a bridge is based on whether the condition of any of the individual components – the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert, if any – is rated as poor or below.

Alviti had warned of the bridge’s poor condition in a 2019 grant application to rehabilitate the bridge and improve traffic flow, writing that the bridge was “approaching a permanent state of disrepair.”

According to federal data, the bridge has an inspection frequency of 24 months. State officials said it was last inspected in July.