Washington Bridge legal team to meet, as McKee’s ‘day of reckoning’ still yet to be determined

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Governor Dan McKee’s legal team, who is working on potential litigation for the “failure” of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge, will hold a press conference this morning.

Media availability will begin around 10:30 a.m. in Providence.

McKee’s team is seeking financial recovery from any party responsible for the bridge’s closure.

The legal team has been combing through years of inspections and interactions, to find out exactly what went so wrong.

McKee has promised that the “day of reckoning” will come for those responsible for the closure of the Washington Bridge.

The westbound side of the bridge has been closed since December of 2023.

McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti acknowledged yesterday during a press conference that they were too aggressive with their initial request for contractors to reconstruct the westbound span of the bridge.

They also say that won’t slow their efforts.

“In this RFP we push the envelope apparently beyond what the construction industry is willing to bear,” said Alviti yesterday.

“We accept that. But we’re not going to be discouraged, we’re moving forward with plans to readjust and move forward to continue to help commuters get the new bridge that they need,” he continued.

Officials said yesterday that the state will now issue a request for information to get input from contractors in the industry, something they did not do last time.

Both McKee and Alviti say they’re comfortable demolishing the bridge without securing a contractor to rebuild it first, but couldn’t give any information on what this will mean for the timeline moving forward.