In a series of news conferences Wednesday, state officials provided key updates on the closure of the westbound lanes of the bridge that carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River between East Providence and Providence.
What to know about the Washington Bridge shutdown in Providence
WATCH: The sudden closure triggered a traffic nightmare and forced students to go remote. Reporter Steph Machado describes the impact and potential solutions.
Rods bracing the bridges cracked and ultimately severed, forcing the closure of the westbound side, officials said. The span was at risk of collapse.
TransportationDirector Peter Alviti Jr. on Wednesday showed two before and after photos taken of the rods during a routine inspection in July and from a few days ago. In July, the rods were solid and in one piece. In December, one was severed near the base, and the other was cracked. (The full inspection report from July was released later Wednesday afternoon.)
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“I hope that this dispels the rumors and fearmongering that’s going on, that goes to the issue of whether or not we’re hiding something or things should have been known,” Alviti said. “The fact of the matter is our inspection reports in July showed these as being stable structures, and something catastrophic happened between July and now. Don’t know whether it was a large load that may have driven over it that imposed a shear force.”
Photos included in the Washington Bridge weekend report RI DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. referred to during his press conference Tuesday, Nov. 12, show steel rods that brace the bridge had sheared. – (R.I. Department of Transportation)R.I. Department of Transportation
He has ruled out damage caused by ongoing construction on the eastbound bridge structure, and said that the rods were part of the original bridge structure when it was built in 1968, and had reached the end of their life span.
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Alviti added Wednesday that officials expect to open two emergency bypass lanes this weekend on the eastbound side of the bridge, to allow westbound traffic to get moving again.
“We have made considerable progress in the last day,” Alviti said. “I know we had projected one week or two weeks out. I am happy to say we have a high confidence level of completing it by this weekend. That should bring the travel times down, not to where they were prior to this emergency, but closer to it.”
In addition, Alviti said ferry service between Bristol and Providence could start up in a week or so. The 500-passenger ferry would travel from one of two potential sites in Bristol to the summer ferry landing spot at India Point in Providence, he said.
The department is also working with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to provide shuttle services between parking lots at the ferry landing and Kennedy Plaza and the Providence train station, said Alviti.
East Providence schools, which shifted to remote instruction Wednesday because of traffic jams throughout the city, are resuming in-person classes Thursday, East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva said.
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State Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green told reporters Wednesday that the traffic jams have affected not just East Providence students but also those traveling to private schools, charter schools, special education programs, and career and technical education programs in the area.
Out of our 300 school bus routes statewide, 62 have been impacted by the bridge closure, and of those, 23 had experienced “more of the severe delay” on Tuesday, Infante-Green said. But that number was reduced on Wednesday, she said. “So we’re happy to announce that,” she said. “We thank the parents for being patient and understanding.”
The broken and damaged rods were noticed by a young engineer working on the demolition of an old bridge deck nearby — not during a routine inspection.
“Fortunately, [the damage] was more of a gradual kind of domino effect,” Alviti said. “As the structure weakened, the other pins on it failed.” However, he continued, “it didn’t cause a cataclysmic failure of the bridge decks falling into the river, and vehicles falling into the river below, and having that kind of casualties that they have had in other locations.”
Alviti said that RIDOT has rebuilt 300 bridges in the last seven years, when Rhode Island bridges were rated the worst in the country. He said that RIDOT has a regular and accelerated inspection and reinspection each year and a special bridge unit in maintenance.
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“We are not only rebuilding them, and learning from this kind of thing, and rebuilding them in a different way, where this in the future will not happen to those bridges, but we’ve also put in place an effective maintenance force that will keep them from deteriorating like they did during the last 50 years,” he said.
It’s not just Rhode Island commuters frustrated by the sudden closure of the bridge, said Congressman Jake Auchincloss, a Newton, Mass., Democrat.
“The closure of the Washington Bridge on I-195 is a major disruption for Bay Staters traveling to Providence, making commutes longer and limiting access to one of the biggest cities in New England,” Auchincloss tweeted Wednesday at 4:23 p.m., just as rush hour was kicking into gear. “I’ll continue to work with @USDOT to get the bridge re-opened ASAP.”
The closure of the Washington Bridge on I-195 is a major disruption for Bay Staters traveling to Providence, making commutes longer and limiting access to one of the biggest cities in New England.
Also Wednesday, Rhode Island state House Oversight Committee Chairperson Patricia A. Serpa, a West Warwick Democrat, she had received a couple of request from East Bay representatives asking the committee to bring Alviti or his staff in to discuss the bridge situation. She said that she’d like the committee to address the matter, but that this might not be best time to pull away the officials who are dealing with the bridge problem.
“If we are going to take the people who are charged with solving this problem away from this work, I don’t know if this is the right time to do it. Let them get it done,” Serpa said. “Let it play out. There will be plenty of time for who did what, when. We will follow up on this at the right time.”
Serpa led the House Oversight committee’s analysis of the botched UHIP benefit rollout in 2016 – which caused a massive backlog of applications for food stamp and health benefits – and drew parallels between that crisis and the bridge debacle.
“It’s like we are always doing things after the fact in this state — that is why people get so frustrated,” she said. “It’s UHIP on wheels. Here we go again.”
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Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. This breaking news story will be updated.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
URI coach Archie Miller speaks after Rams beat Temple, 85-79
Led by Sebastian Thomas down the stretch, the Rhode Island Rams end their nonconference schedule with a win over Temple in a holiday tournament.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — It wound up being just a one-game absence for Sebastian Thomas due to a foot injury, and how much the University of Rhode Island needs the veteran guard was on full display Saturday evening.
The former Bishop Hendricken standout flashed some ice cold blood in the final seconds against Temple, making the two biggest plays that dropped an old Atlantic 10 rival.
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Thomas knocked down a wing 3-pointer that snapped the game’s sixth tie, then came up with a steal on the ensuing possession. The Rams avoided what would have been a painful meltdown in the second half and instead surged into league play off the back of an 85-79 victory at MassMutual Center.
More: Rhode Island men’s basketball is on the rise in coach Archie Miller’s 3rd year in Kingston
Thomas conjured up a four-point play with 20.8 seconds left to break a 79-79 deadlock, the highlight in his second double-double of the season. He finished with 20 points and 10 assists after missing a victory over Central Connecticut State last time out. URI made relatively routine work of the Blue Devils at the Ryan Center but could have been in serious trouble against the Owls here.
“Sebastian stepped up when it was money time,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “He delivered not only from the foul line and his last shot, but he made plays for others.”
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Miller called a timeout with 37.6 seconds left looking to snap a string of three straight missed shots. Thomas drew two defenders off the dribble on the left side, David Green drew two more on a drive into the paint and Thomas drifted open on the wing. He fired a jumper and absorbed some contact on the wrist from Quante Berry, resulting in a four-point play that made it an 83-79 game.
“I was confident,” Thomas said. “I feel like in those situations you just have to make the right pass. I threw it back to (Green), he drove and my guy kind of helped.”
It was a shot reminiscent of the late dagger Thomas plunged into Providence at the Ryan Center to begin the month. The Rams held on for a 69-63 triumph over the Friars. They matched that margin against the Owls, an old league foe that had captured the last seven meetings in the series. Javonte Brown added his own double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, helping to author the perfect lead into a New Year’s Eve trip to Duquesne.
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“We knew they were a good defensive team,” Brown said. “We also knew the advantage was me on the inside. Shoutout to my teammates for finding me.”
Thomas sealed the victory on the defensive end. Jamal Mashburn Jr. missed a 3-pointer and Shane Dezonie gathered an offensive rebound along the right baseline. Thomas stripped Dezonie from behind and was fouled with 10.1 seconds left, setting up a pair of free throws to close it out.
“My foot is definitely improving,” Thomas said. “I wasn’t 100% going into the game, but I think it was a mindset thing. The team needed me — the team wanted me to play.”
The Rams (11-1) squandered a 16-point lead with 14:54 left and were in danger of absorbing a painful defeat. Jaden House answered a Mashburn drive down the lane with one of his own to make it 77-77, and URI never trailed over the final 2:59. Mashburn entered averaging 20.8 points per game but went just 5-for-20 from the field, as the Rams did just enough to limit other options and survive.
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“These guys are probably exhausted from hearing his name,” Miller said. “That’s how much the game plan really kind of stressed what he was doing.”
The Owls (7-5) took a 36-35 edge into halftime before falling in a deep hole. URI was at its sharpest through the opening 5:34 out of the locker room, zipping out to a 56-40 cushion thanks to no turnovers and sizzling shooting. Green’s 3-pointer from the left corner capped an 8-for-9 stretch from the field.
“We looked right,” Miller said. “Guys were really sharing it. Our defense was creating some offense for us. We capitalized.”
The Rams followed by giving the ball away six times in less than six minutes, and Temple built its own momentum. The Owls were 12-for-18 from the field after a 1-for-6 start, and a Mashburn jumper from the right baseline gave them a 72-71 advantage with 5:36 left. Miller called a timeout prior to the ensuing possession and looked to reset.
“You found a way to win 11 games,” Miller said. “They found a way to do it again here tonight.”
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Javonte Brown scored 21 and Sebastian Thomas sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left as Rhode Island knocked off Temple 85-79 on Saturday night at the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
Brown added 10 rebounds for the Rams (11-1). Thomas scored 20 points while going 4 of 7 from the floor, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range, and 9 for 9 from the line and added 10 assists. David Green went 6 of 12 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range) to finish with 17 points.
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The Owls (7-5) were led by William Settle, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Temple also got 17 points and three steals from Shane Dezonie. Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 14.
Green scored 10 points in the first half and Rhode Island went into the break trailing 36-35. Thomas scored 15 points for Rhode Island in the second half.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Lindy McDonough started her brand, Lindquist (the full version of her Swedish middle name), with a rule about glue. It had to be high quality, holding together the layers of her unique bags, but also free of VOC—a toxic compound used by most leather bag brands—and all other toxins. The rule was a non-starter because it’s both a nexus and metaphor for the brand’s ethos.
In 2020, McDonough started Lindquist with her husband, Conor MacKean, a mechanical engineer, and Kate Gronner, head of production, in a small factory in Providence, Rhode Island. “We had dreams—we still have big dreams—about what we wanted to do, but we wanted to do it the right way,” she tells Vogue. The right way meant ethically handmade bags created by a team that earns competitive wages, with full healthcare and benefits. It also means no toxic dyes, no waste, and only high-quality, vegetable-tanned leather. “[We thought] if we make a beautiful thing and treat people well, it will work,” she says of the beginning stages.
Designer Lindy McDonough in her Rhode Island studio.John Hesselbarth & Kate Foster of Apparition
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