McKee on Washington Bridge: ‘We’re going above and beyond’ on inspection

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti gave an update on inspections of the Washington Bridge.

Among recent maintenance to the bridge was the tightening of nuts and bolts, barrier holds repair, concrete deck repair and sealing of hairline fractures.

These fractures are not uncommon and will be patched to prevent them from growing larger, according to Alviti.

The integrity of the bridge has not been effected by the work and won’t effect travel, according to Alviti.

Alviti also said that the bridge will be in fair condition “for the foreseeable future.”

The state is now going with a six-month schedule of bridge inspection, versus the previous two-year and one-year intervals.

This new frequency is “above and beyond the level that is necessary” according to Alviti.

“The bridge is safe, bottom line, the bridge is safe,” said Governor McKee.

McKee also stated that the two companies that evaluated the current bridge have determined that the load of vehicles traveling over the bridge is safe with the six-lane configuration.

Alviti stated that he didn’t have the exact price tag of the inspections available at that time.

McKee wouldn’t comment on cost.

“However much we’re spending is how much we should be spending to avoid this ever happening again,” added Alviti.

McKee also addressed outside entities commenting on the safety of the current bridge, accusing groups of spreading bad information.

McKee stated that people outside of the country were spreading false information obtained through satellite imagery on the condition of the bridge, “giving the impression that the bridge is not safe.”