‘This isn’t an indication that we were ill prepared’: Department of Transportation director answers backlash following storm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — After heavy downpours turned Rhode Island streets into streams, closing major state highways and roadways, many are trying to figure out who’s responsible.

Gov. Dan McKee received a lot of backlash from his election opponents. He responded by saying the state’s roadways have survived much worse situations.

“(Those comments) Were an act of desperation. We had one of the worse snow falls in a 24-hour period in January, and people were more concerned about Tom Brady coming out of retirement,” Mckee said.

Others point the finger at the state’s infrastructure.

Rhode Island Department of Transportation director Peter Alviti said his crews did all they could in terms of prevention and response.

“We prepared, we prepared effectively. We were out there on Friday two days before the storm was even a topic of conversation,” Alviti said.

Alviti said the drainage on Interstate 95 and Route 10 are about 50 and 60 years old respectively.

“We’re dealing with decades and decades of lack of maintenance and lack of improvements,” he said.

However, improvements are in the works to upgrade drainage in the area of I-95 near Thurbers Avenue and near the 6-10 interchange.

As part of the 6-10 Interchange project, the Department of Transportation plans to replace a 42-inch drainage pipe system with a 72-inch main storm drain.

While project completion is still a year and a half out, Alviti said the drainage system will see significant improvements in a matter of months.

“We’re doing a lot in preparation for storms like this and in the long term for making our drainage system more resilient,” Alviti said.