McKee appoints senior deputy chief to Washington Bridge operations

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Governor Dan McKee has announced the appointment of Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Almond to provide oversight and cross-agency coordination for all operations related to the Washington Bridge.

Monday morning, Spokesperson Olivia DaRocha released the following statement from the governor’s office:

“Today, we are announcing that the Governor has dispatched Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Almond to RIDOT and charged him with providing oversight and cross-agency coordination for all operations related to the Washington Bridge. Joe has a background in both municipal leadership and public safety that will position him well for this role.”

Joseph Almond, former town administrator of Lincoln and a former police officer, has been dispatched from his duties with the governor and he will now work closely with the Rhode Island department of transportation to oversee Washington Bridge Operations.

“It is just natural that we would have someone designated from our office, which is arguably the most important issue we are dealing with right now,” McKee said.

Just this past Friday, the governor’s office released documents that were sent by the United States Department of Justice and the office of the inspector general, requesting documentation on the Washington Bridge closure.

“We knew that the federals would be involved. We did not know exactly in what form,” McKee added. “It is not a surprise that we are doing a forensic overview as we do all oversight right now.”

The DOJ’s civil investigative demand said that they have concerns the allegation that false claims for payment for services and/or false statements in support of such payments have been submitted to the U.S. Government.

McKee stated that Almond’s role with the Washington bridge is similar to that of what his office did during the pandemic, hiring a liaison to help with coordination.

Director of Transportation Peter Alviti and the department of transportation are still fully responsible for the Washington Bridge.

“As with any other kind of investigation, we will be cooperating,” Alviti said. “The governor has given us instruction to cooperate fully, and that is what we will be doing.”

When asked about a full reconstruction of the Washington bridge, McKee said it was too premature to decide if that was necessary.