Rhode Island officials keep an eye on storm damage and flooding, Washington Bridge traffic

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and other leaders provided an update on Monday’s storm and the ongoing Washington Bridge response.

McKee was joined by Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, and other officials at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency in Cranston.

Emergency Management Agency Director Marc Pappa said Amtrak service was disrupted due to wires down over the tracks in Cumberland.

Block Island Ferry Service was cancelled throughout the day.

The governor said steady rain and wind is expected through the early afternoon. He noted communities including Westerly and Bristol had significant flooding.

Over 30,000 Rhode Islanders were without power as of 11:20 a.m. At the same time in Massachusetts, a whopping 159,953 were without power.

The number of outages have fluctuated in both states amid the storm’s heavy wind rain.

Rhode Islanders can report outages to Rhode Island Energy or text OUT to 743-688.

Officials reminded drivers to never try to drive through standing water. It’s unsafe, and abandoned vehicles cause further issues for crews.

The weather brought more disruption than last week’s storm, including several school cancellations.

Issues were reported across the Ocean State, including early dismissal at Tollgate High School and Pawtucket City Hall closing early.

The Department of Transportation also continued to monitor traffic on the Washington Bridge.

“Our project managers have been keeping a close eye on the traffic surrounding the 495 bypasses that we built last week,” Alviti said. “It operated efficiently through the weekend and during this morning’s commute.”

He said there was some backup on I-195 west from Seekonk due to detours from the storm.

Alviti said the storm disrupted ferry service created to help provide relief to commuters.

He said ferry service from Bristol to Providence was cancelled Monday and Tuesday. All three ferries will resume service at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The service will be offered every half hour until 7 p.m. and can transport 1,000 people per hour.