On Sept. 26, a leaked forensic audit of the I-195 Washington Bridge revealed that there were long-term structural issues with the bridge that had been developing for years before the state decided to close the bridge in December 2023.
While the April 2024 draft report does not place primary blame on any specific individual or group for the bridge’s failure, it states that bridge inspectors and program managers “should have and could have been aware” of growing issues.
The bridge was shut down in 2023 due to structural issues, including fractured steel rods and deteriorated cantilever beam systems. Its westbound lanes are currently being rebuilt.
In August 2024, the state filed a lawsuit against 13 private companies that worked on the bridge prior to its closure, claiming that the companies failed to identify and rectify the bridge’s structural issues.
Conducted by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates and commissioned by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the audit examined inspections conducted on the bridge dating back to 2001. The report was not publicly available until a portion was leaked by the Instagram account What’s Going On In Rhode Island two weeks ago.
In their post, the Instagram account claimed that “nothing in this report warrants a lawsuit against the 13 companies who worked on the bridge.”
Later that night, the Office of R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha P’19 P’22 released the report on their website “so that media outlets may reliably verify its authenticity,” wrote Timothy Rondeau, a spokesperson for the office, in an email to The Herald.
Before the report was leaked, it was accessible to Neronha’s office and had been made available to the defendants’ legal counsel, according to Rondeau.
The audit was not released to the public previously due to the lawsuit, wrote R.I. House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D-Warwick) in an email to The Herald.
Shekarchi added that he was “deeply troubled by the findings of the forensic audit.”
“Now that the forensic report is available, we will conduct a thorough and rigorous examination of the new information contained in it,” wrote R.I. Senate President Valarie Lawson (D-East Providence) in an email to The Herald.
In a conversation with journalist Gene Valicenti last week, RIDOT Director Peter Alviti claimed there were “a bunch of big lies” being spread about the audit’s findings.
Responding to claims that RIDOT had kept the report a secret because it reflected negatively upon the department, Alviti explained that the Attorney General’s Office had instructed RIDOT to not discuss the report because “there’s over $100 million at stake” in the ongoing lawsuit.
“We need to protect this important court case,” Alviti added.
Shekarchi explained that “the House and Senate have already held two joint oversight committee hearings on the bridge and required monthly transparency progress reports in state statute.” Now in light of the report, the General Assembly plans to conduct an additional oversight hearing in November.
When asked whether RIDOT will take partial responsibility for the bridge’s failure based on the audit’s findings, Alviti said “there is a large body of evidence that I think will result in the … responsibility for what happened being placed on the right people.”
There is currently dispute over who will be able to testify in the upcoming oversight hearing.
Gov. Dan McKee asserted that RIDOT employees could not respond to questions about the bridge’s failure during the hearing without the possibility of “jeopardizing” the lawsuit.
Shekarchi wrote that he, Lawson and Neronha disagree with McKee.
“The people of Rhode Island deserve transparency and accountability,” Neronha wrote in a statement shared with The Herald. “Though my office seeks to hold accountable several contractor companies for what we allege was negligent behavior, that doesn’t mean those in state leadership charged with maintaining our roads and bridges get a free pass.”
“The public deserves answers after nearly two years of major disruption due to the closure of this vital highway,” Lawson wrote.
RIDOT did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment.
Pavani Durbhakula is a senior staff writer and photographer. She is a first-year from DC and plans to study IAPA and Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading, and searching for new coffee shops.
