East Providence in gridlock after Washington Bridge shutdown, officials looking for remedies

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — East Providence is one of the communities hit hardest by the Washington Bridge’s emergency closure, with city council members electing to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of commuters were trapped in the East Providence area, taking more than an hour to travel just a few miles and East Providence officials said it’s one of the worst situations they’ve ever seen.

“Nothing on this scale. COVID comes to mind, but the city was kind of deadlocked a little bit with that. Schools were closed, but this is different — and more than an inconvenience, this is a safety issue. This is some people not able to go to work,” explained East Providence City Council President Bob Rodericks.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic lasted for hours in East Providence, with commuters battling through gridlock condition, missing work, school, and doctors’ appointments.

“I have a VA appointment at one-o-clock, I’m coming from Cape Cod,” Gary Lewis told ABC 6 News from his car in traffic.

His wife, Mary Ann, also told ABC 6 he had a surgery planned that they were going to have to reschedule due to traffic. 

“I had to call ahead of time to let them know I was going to be late, I didn’t think it was going to be this bad. They close at 4:30, so it looks like I’m going to reschedule, but it was horrific,” said Lewis.

With residents stuck on the road, local businesses are taking a hit, too.

“I’m hoping that they figure this out sooner than later because this can’t be happening too much longer. This is not good for any business, you know?” said local business owner Michael Lopez who owns Blendz in the city.

East Providence City Council also looked to the Small Business Association to possibly assist local businesses that are losing money from the bridge’s closure.

And while state and local officials are working on a range of solutions, they say it’ll take time.

“Federal and state is slow moving when it comes with funds. I can say the council, the administration, and the city are working as of yesterday to compile that. We will be working diligently and giving the information to the commerce and following up. We’re very proactive in that way, so if we don’t hear from you, we’ll be coming back to look for some more answers until we get them,” said Ward 2 Councilor Anna Sousa.

The actual timeline to get the Washington Bridge fixed is anywhere between two to three months at best.

In the meantime, officials say they’re trying to ease the impact on residents however they can.

East Providence City Council has another meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, where they hope to provide updates on the situation.

Officials are also reaching out to McKee to get the National Guard involved in this response.