Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation Peter Alviti will retire from RIDOT on Feb. 27. Alviti announced his departure in a letter of resignation to Gov. Dan McKee on Wednesday. Robert Rocchio, the current chief engineer of infrastructure at RIDOT, will serve as the agency’s interim director, according to a press release from McKee’s office.
“As the Washington Bridge project moves from demolition into the rebuild phase, I am confident that Bob Rocchio will provide the steady leadership and engineering expertise we need,” McKee said in the press release. McKee’s administration will search nationwide for Alviti’s permanent replacement.
Alviti’s resignation comes after 11 years working as director of RIDOT, a role he assumed in February 2015. “I have been discussing and planning my retirement from RIDOT for quite some time,” Alviti wrote in his letter of resignation.
Alviti’s resignation notice comes in the midst of Washington Bridge reconstruction efforts. The bridge was closed in Dec. 2023, and late last year, a leaked audit alleged that inspectors missed signs of long-term structural issues with the bridge. In a statement on X, Democratic candidate for governor Helena Foulkes wrote that Alviti’s resignation comes “two years too late.”
“Events surrounding the necessary closure of the Washington Bridge provided me with the resolve to stay on until the Washington Bridge was well on a path to successful completion,” Alviti wrote.
RIDOT declined to comment on the motivations behind Alviti’s resignation.
In November, Alviti faced questions about the Washington Bridge closure under oath. At the time, lawmakers expressed frustration with his answers, and Alviti acknowledged that the bridge may have been unsafe in the months prior to its closure.
According to Alviti’s resignation letter, the Washington Bridge’s reconstruction effort has received $427 million in federal and state funding, and a contract has been awarded to design and build the new bridge.
“The project is firmly on track for successful completion on-time and on-budget,” Alviti wrote.
Alviti added that he has achieved his original goal of reducing the percent of bridges deemed structurally deficient from 27% to 10%, having fixed 352 bridges in eleven years. He also noted accomplishments including the Route 6/10 Interchange Reconstruction project and the launch of a new ferry system.
Dylan Giles, operations manager at the Providence Streets Coalition — an association of various organizations advocating for human-friendly streets in Providence — wrote that “Broadly speaking, Providence Streets Coalition and Save RIPTA welcome new leadership at RIDOT that will have a multimodal, 21st century approach to transportation.”
Giles also mentioned policy changes he hopes to see such as “investment in bike and pedestrian infrastructure,” public transit prioritization and an emphasis on decarbonization by reducing vehicle miles traveled.
“We recognize Director Alviti’s many years of state service across two administrations and wish him well,” McKee said in the Wednesday press release.
“I am deeply grateful for the trust you and the people of Rhode Island placed in me to lead this vital department,” Alviti wrote. “Serving our great state and doing the public good has been the pinnacle of my professional career.”
Kelly Ding is a senior staff writer for the community and culture beat. She is from College Station, TX and plans to concentrate in IAPA on the policy and governance track. In her free time, she loves to explore new coffee shops, curl up with a good book, and be a gym rat.
